Feelings Of Family
by Girl who likes to lay under tables
Summary: AU! Rin lives in an orphanage with 20 other children. She is viewed as a mother and sister. What will happen when her life gets more complicated with realationships, early graduation problems, and unexpected events happening? Rin x Sesshomaru
1. Difficult Day

Chapter 1: Difficult Day

_Beep Beep Beep_

The body under the blankets didn't want to get up. She would do anything not to have to get up and go to school today. It was the first day back to school, and she wasn't looking forward to it.

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_

Rin pulled a little of the blankets away from her head as she listened to the beeping, positive that the noise had gotten louder. 'Just close your eyes,' said Rin to herself, 'and you won't remember where you are.'

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_

Rin was just about to turn the alarm clock off when a hand beat her too it. Rin looked up into the face of Mrs. Johnson, the "House Mother".

"Rin!" yelled Mrs. Johnson, "If you don't get up and dressed NOW, you'll miss breakfast and the bus, and you'll have to walk, because I'm not driving you."

Rin grumbled something about Mrs. Johnson being a fat toad, before she left and almost instantly felt a wooden spoon hit her square on the head.

"Don't you say things like that, you ungrateful orphan," said Mrs. Johnson from the doorway. "You are in a nice place and there are many children who would love to be in your shoes." With that the woman left the doorway.

Rin looked up to see seven beds already made, and no one around. Rin got dressed and watch a mouse run out of her closet. "Yeah, such a nice place," said Rin in a grumble.

She put on her shoes and watched as one of her toes could be seen through both the shoe and the sock. "Who would want to live in my shoes, you old hag!" yelled Rin. She always wondered how that old hag had ever married.

Rin hurried down stairs to see 20 other children eating breakfast. Rin was the oldest, and the only one in high school. They all lived in Madam Carol's House of Orphans. Basically, they lived in a dilapidated boarding house from the 1900s with a crotchety old hag that only wanted the money. What really bugged Rin was that Mrs. Johnson's name wasn't even Carol, it was Prudence.

She sat down and began eating when a bell rang and everyone stood up. Rin put down her spoon that was covered in yesterday's oatmeal, and stood. 'So goes another day in the life of an unwanted orphan,' thought Rin to herself.

"Now," started Mrs. Johnson. "Today is the first day of school. You are all to be on your best behavior. You will go strait to school on the bus, and you will walk home. I need you to get some groceries on your way back. There is no exception. Blake and Amy will take the younger children home, while Rin, Margaret, Samantha, Alexander, Robert, and Bradley will go for the groceries. Now hurry up and wait outside for the bus."

The older kids grumbled. They knew the bus wouldn't be around for another 20 minutes. Mrs. Johnson wanted them out so she could watch her shows. They never got to watch television, and it made an impact on their lives.

"Did you hear what I said?" asked Mrs. Johnson, her voice raising, "Get outside NOW!"

The children quickly grabbed their bags and ran out the door. Miss Crogan was at the door, and handed Rin an envelope.

"What's in here?" asked Rin.

"That is the money, and the shopping list," said Miss Crogan kindly. Miss Kathy Crogan was a blonde lady who took care of the youngest children. The ones that were too young to go to school. She looked after them until they got to 9. Then you were Mrs. Prudence Johnson's. "There is a little extra for you to get a snack with, just don't make it too big."

"Thank you Miss Crogan," said Rin quietly as she headed out the door.

Rin caught up to the rest of the kids as they made their way to the bus stop. Most were grumbling about having to leave so early. The younger kids were quietly sitting on the bench.

The youngest one there was Roy. He was five years old. His mother had just left him at the orphanage. He didn't know where he was at first, and he took a long time to calm down. He was only 3 when he was dropped off, never to be taken home again. He was a beautiful boy. He had dark black hair and surprisingly blue eyes. He was very smart, but he was very quiet. He was easily picked on. More than once, Rin had to step in and help Roy out of fights with Maria.

Maria was a sparkling six year old with curly red hair and brown eyes. She was taller than Roy, but seemed to always want to pick on him. She had been in the orphanage since she was only a few months old. The adults had had high hopes for her since she was so cute, but she wasn't very good with strangers, so she was always sent back. It had an impact on her life, but she always seemed to go through with shining colors.

Her best friend was Bell. Well, the children called her Bell, but Mrs. Johnson called everyone by their _real_ names. Isabella was her real name. She was a shy seven year old, with long black hair. She had tan skin, and an accent from her mother, Catalina. She had been an orphan at the same place a few years before Rin. Catalina had come into some trouble with a boyfriend, and got pregnant. She left Bell there when she was very young. She had become close to Maria because they both had come to the orphanage in the same way. In their hearts, they always felt like Rin was their mom as she had been the one to take care of them as a baby, because Miss Crogan had others to take care of too. Most of the children there now thought of Rin as a mother or a sister.

"Hey, stop that!" yelled Rin to Nat and Joe. They were trying to tip a mailbox.

"Sorry Rin," said the two boys together. They were too cute to stay mad at.

"Just don't do it again," sighed Rin.

"We won't," said the twins as they ran and sat on their back packs.

Nathaniel and Joseph were complete trouble makers. Rin usually was the one to go to parent-teacher conferences for most of the kids, so she sat through a lot from the boys. The twin blonde haired children were smart, but clowns. The boys had been left there by their older brother after their mother had died. It was the only way they knew of how to keep themselves normal. They both looked at Rin with their bright green eyes and smiled. They had angle faces which made it impossible to stay mad at. The only reason they weren't adopted was because they didn't want to be. They always said that their brother was going to come back for them. No one would tell them that their brother had died from a drug overdose; they didn't want to break their hearts.

"OW!" said a little girl with pig tails in her hair. "Why did you do that?"

"Because it's fun," said a little boy with long brown hair that was tied back.

The little girl was Mae. She was 11, and had long blonde hair that she always kept in pigtails. One of the older girls had to braid her hair, because it was so long. She had freckles all over her face and she had deep blue eyes. She was a strong girl, even though she had been beaten as a child. It took her months to actually open up and talk to people. Some of the doctors had figured that Mae had been sexually assaulted, and would be afraid of men. It was actually the opposite. The first person she talked to was Peter Dougall, the cook. He had actually gotten her to talk, and then she seemed like a new person, always singing and talking with everyone.

The boy was Phil. Phillip was 10, and trouble, or he wanted to be. He was in the age where he wanted to be just like his parent. He had just gotten dropped off at the orphanage at the beginning of summer. Most had been surprised that he had just opened up, but he seemed to fit in like everyone else. He had nightmares though, about when he was younger. He was abused as a child, and forced to live in a basement for long periods of time. It was only because he was different. He had glasses and short, brown hair with brown eyes. Rin could tell that he would grow out of this phase because he never really did anything wrong.

Rin let her eyes travel over the rest of the bunch. The older boys were talking to the newspaper stand owner. They were always interested in the news. Alex, Bob, and Brad. The "Dream Team", as they were called, planned on making a difference in the world. For 11 years old, they knew exactly what they were going to do. Alexander was going to be a fireman, Robert was going to be a teacher, and Brad was going to be the best doctor the city had ever seen. They were always trying to get as much knowledge as humanly possible about current events. They newspaper man named Jack was always giving the boys extra papers. He had a soft spot for the boys, and always insisted that the papers were on the house. During the summer, they boys had delivered newspapers around the city. The red heads were exactly what you wanted. They were going to make a difference because their father had been a dead beat alcoholic. He had beaten the boys many times, sometimes putting them in the hospital, and finally the DCF had taken them away. They were always okay though. The sparkle in their brown eyes never went away.

The other siblings in the orphanage were Amy and Margaret, or Maggie for short. They were 13 and were identical twins. You would never be able to tell them apart except for their eyes. Amy had blue eyes and Maggie had green. With short black hair, the girls were talkative and boy crazy. Rin hoped that they wouldn't get too bad because that was what got them there in the first place. Their mother was a prostitute and had gotten pregnant from a trick. She put the girls up with her mother and her mother sent them here. She didn't want them and their mother didn't want them either. They were two unwanted children. Now they had a bunch of people who loved them, and they were happy. Their dream was to have all of them get their own place and live together. Rin knew it wouldn't happen, but she wouldn't smash their dreams. They worked during the summer and had saved all their money to do something like that. They had made over 500 dollars during the three months, and hadn't spent a penny.

Rin spotted Blake looking at a red car that was parked by the bus stop. Blake was obsessed with cars. He wanted one of his own some day, and saved up his money too. He was only 13, and had a bank account with over 3,000 in it. The tall, lengthy kid wanted to be a racecar driver, and wanted to drive on a track as black as his hair. He had brown eyes, and was ambitious. He had actually been run over by a car, and had been left to die. He had stayed in the hospital for almost a year, and the DCF sent him to Carol's. He had been afraid of cars in the beginning, but soon wanted to master them. He was the resident fix-it man. He could fix anything if he put his mind to it. He was still secretly afraid of cars, but he would overcome it some day. He would always have the scars from his experience, but he would eventually master his fear.

Over near the bus stop sign was a group of girls giggling and laughing. Rin could spot four heads in that group. The tallest was Sammy. Samantha was a tall girl, but she was also considered over weight. The children at school would make fun of her, and she would come home crying. She was a girl of little self confidence, but she would always speak her mind. Before she would come home, she would always tell those kids what she thought of them. She was abused as a child, so it was amazing that she would stand up for herself. She was strong though. She was always sent on the shopping trip because she had the strength to carry things. A sudden wind came up and it caught on her wavy light brown hair and blocked Rin's vision of her lovely dark hazel eyes.

Rin looked down the street wondering if the bus would ever come. All she knew was that the sooner it came, the sooner she could see the babies in the nursery. Matt, or Matthew, was the youngest. He was only a year old, and the newest one. He was a baby that was found in the dumpster. Rin shook her head as she tried to figure out how anyone could leave that sweet boy like that. He was always laughing and had unusual green eyes.

The other new addition was Rose. She had been left on their doorstep with a tag on her blanket. She was of Native American dissent. The name left on her blanket was Rozene, but Rin, being the smart girl she was, looked up the name and found it was the Native American name that meant Rose. She was a beautiful girl with dark eyes and dark hair. She was going to be adopted soon, or that was Rin's prediction.

The only one in the nursery that wasn't a baby was Dave. David was actually a child of another orphan that, one day, just left the orphanage. She had been 18, and could leave at anytime. Mrs. Johnson had never found her, or she would have given the child back. He was of mixed race, with darker skin, and thick black hair. Mrs. Johnson was a very racist woman, and didn't want anyone with African American blood in her home, but Miss Crogan convinced her that it would be best. So the little black eyed baby was left in Miss Crogan's care. Rin worried about how Dave would be treated when he got older. She had tried very hard to get Dave adopted, but with no luck. She hoped that she would be able to help him when he got older.

"Rin, when are we going to school?" asked a little girl with a yellow ribbon in her dark red hair. Faye was 12 years old, but still very naïve. She had gorgeous blue eyes that had flecks of green in them. She was always ready to learn, but she was so shy that she never got a chance to show it off. She had been beat for being too smart, and now didn't like to prove that she was smart publicly for fear it would happen again.

"Soon Faye," said Rin as she smoothed the girl's hair.

She ran back to her two friends Ella and Liz. Ella was a little pistol. She had fiery red hair, and the temper to match it. At 12, that was a bad thing to have. She would tell you exactly what she felt, no matter what happened to her. She had been molested and beaten as a child. It was a common thing now. She had mouthed off too many times, and her mother broke her arm. Her father had molested her, and her mother had divorced him. Her mother had taken up drinking and finally DCF took Ella away from her abusive father.

Elizabeth was a quite girl with long black hair that she kept in a pony tail. She was 12 also, and had a similar life to Ella's, only that she didn't speak up. Ella had on multiply occasions, help Liz get out of a bad situation with bullies at school. Liz had become a wall flower who wouldn't defend herself. She had gotten better though. When she first came here, she wouldn't talk to anyone, but with Ella's help, eventually made friends with almost every one.

Just then, the bus had pulled up next to the stop. The door opened to reveal an old woman with white hair.

"Hello children," said Shirley, "I'm sorry I'm late."

The children all got on the bus, ready to go to school. As Rin sat down, she looked at her watch. It was only 7:25. Shirley had always allowed Rin to ride with the elementary and junior high school students since she had gotten into high school. Rin looked out the window as she knew that today would be a difficult one.

To be continued…

This is my next Fan Fic, and I really don't know how often this will be updated. I think once a week. Alright, I'll try to get DitR updated soon, but I need to write it first. Lol… review and be kind.


	2. Car Trouble

AN: I don't own Inyuasha, and I don't think the writers would like it much either. Oh, there are a lot of URLs for pictures so, please don't get mad, some will make you laugh, and some will make you want one yourself.

Chapter 2: Car Trouble

_Good morning, it is 6:04 in the morning, and it is partly cloudy with slight chance of showers. There was an early morning crash on…_

The amber eyes opened to the morning news. He pushed his silver hair out of his face. Stifling the yawn, he hit his alarm clock and got out of bed. Throwing back the maroon covers, he dropped his black boxers, grabbed his towel, and went into his private bathroom.

He threw his towel on the toilet seat and turned on the shower. When the temperature was just right, he stepped inside and let the hot water hit his face, weighing down his silver hair. He put his hand below the shower head so he could put his head down. The water hit the back of his neck as he looked down that the drain. He could see his feet… his big feet. He watched as the water went down the drain.

'Why is today the first day of school?' thought Sesshomaru to himself. He was an excellent student, but like all students, he didn't want to go back to school. He had other things on his mind. He did go out for sports, though. Basketball, Baseball, and Soccer. He was also in a lot of clubs. He was in Spanish Club, Drama Club, Debate Team, Scholastic Bowl, Student Council, Class President, and National Honor Society. He was the perfect student. He always seemed to be busy. He never had time to spare. If he wasn't practicing, he was at a club. His coaches would even schedule the practices around his clubs. No coach wanted to lose him. He would be the best player they ever had, and this was the last year he was there. He was a senior with a full paid scholarship to any college he wanted. He got out from under the water and grabbed the shampoo. He lathered and rinsed his hair and washed his body.

He came out of the shower and dried himself off. With dripping hair he made his way to the closet. After throwing on a pair of red boxers and dark blue jeans, he went to his closet to grab a shirt. After he looked in his closet, he noticed that he had nothing clean.

"I knew I forgot something," said Sesshomaru with a sigh. He grabbed a red t-shirt and grabbed a pair of sneakers. He went back and towel dried his hair. After throwing a brush through it, he grabbed his book bag and went down stairs.

It was a big house. It had four stories and lots of rooms on each floor. He lived on the second floor with his brother, and his parents lived on the third. The first floor and basement were for guests and regular living, and the fourth was an attic. He made his way into the kitchen and sat down, a big plate of food in front of him. His father, Inutaisho, was busy reading the paper and drinking a cup of coffee. He had the same amber eyes and silver hair. He was the president of a major multi-billion dollar company. His company was called Toga, after the family last name. He ran a company that was in advertising. He advertised the biggest name brands. Inutaisho looked over his paper at his son, and put it down.

"Good morning Sesshomaru. How are you this fine morning?"

"Fine," said Sesshomaru as he started at his breakfast.

"Today is the first day of school, isn't it?" asked Inutaisho taking a sip of coffee.

"Yes," said Sesshomaru through a mouthful of eggs.

"Are you excited about it," asked Inutaisho looking at his watch. 'That boy is going to be late again," though Inutaisho.

Sesshomaru just shrugged his shoulders. "I want to see my friends, and I want to play sports."

"Is that all?" asked Inutaisho.

"Why wouldn't it be?" asked Sesshomaru as he picked up his dirty plate and put it in the sink.

"Are you going to go?" asked Izayoi as she came into the kitchen.

"Yes," said Sesshomaru. Izayoi was his step-mother. His mother had died in childbirth. His father and Izayoi had another son named Inyuasha. They both couldn't stand one another, and fought consistently.

"Are you going to take one of the cars?" asked Inutaisho, standing up.

Why did parents ask so many questions? "Yes, the convertible," said Sesshomaru grabbing his bag off the floor.

"You're going to leave Inyuasha here?" asked Izayoi.

"He's not up, and I want to get going, so yeah," said Sesshomaru looking down at Izayoi. She had black hair and dark brown eyes. She always seemed to be wearing pink, somewhere. Today, they were on her shoes. Sesshomaru hated pink.

"How is he going to get to school?" asked Izayoi concerned.

"Well," thought Sesshomaru. "There is the Pontiac."

"You mean the Pontiac Sunbird GT?" asked Inutaisho. "The one we have for you guys to practice driving in?" **(See this website, minus spaces. www. mycarsucks. com /photos/images/carmm1.jgp )**

"Well, Inyuasha should practice more," said Sesshomaru.

"So, you get the blue 1965 Mustang," thought Sesshomaru, "that I let you share. And your brother gets the practice Pontiac?" **(Sesshomaru's car… http/ 3d-decoupage. com/images/643MUSTANGPGWEB.jpg No spaces please)**

"That's what I see," said Sesshomaru grabbing the keys. "First come, first serve."

Inutaisho was about to say something as the door closed.

"I could always let Inyuasha drive the pickup," thought Inutaisho.

"You mean, your 1953 Ford F-100 Custom Truck?" asked Izayoi. "You mean the Torch Red truck that you spent so much money on, and love more than anything?"

"Yes," said Inutaisho cautiously.

"Are you crazy!" yelled Izayoi. "You'll kill him if he gets that truck messed up." **(See www. macsautoparts. com/photos/34photos. html. It's the red one. Just get rid of the spaces.)**

"Well, I guess _that_ one isn't the best choice," said Inutaisho.

"You're damned right," said Izayoi. She was very protective of her only son.

"Well, what do I let him drive then?" asked Inutaisho.

"Well, I'm willing to give up my latest car," said Izayoi. Her car was a 1965 Beetle 1300. "I would be totally willing to give it to Inyuasha."

Inutaisho stifled a laugh and regained a strait face. "Yes dear, if you want to. I need to go." He kissed Izayoi on the cheek and was about to leave.

"I'll just leave the keys on the table with a note so he knows," said Izayoi.

"Of course dear," said Inutaisho leaving the house.

"Wait up dear," called Izayoi after Inutaisho.

**(Here is the car… most will find it… suiting http/ www. pre67vw .co.uk/readerscars/photos/116.jpg Just take out the spaces)**

* * *

Inyuasha woke up, just as cars were leaving the house. He yawned and looked out the window. The Porsche and F-100 truck were just leaving. 'Why isn't mom taking the pink car,' thought Inyuasha.

He was about to go take a shower, but glanced at the clock. "7:39!" gasped Inyuasha. He was going to be late. School started in 21 minutes and it took 15 just to get there. He ran to the shower and just threw it on. Using the same soap, he washed his body, face, and hair in two minutes. He ran out of the bathroom without a towel and threw on some clothes. He grabbed shoes as he ran out the door, trying to wrestle on his blue shirt and put on his shoes all at once. He glanced at the keys on the table.

"Thank you mom," said Inyuasha as he grabbed the keys. He ripped off part of the note as he grabbed the keys. He glanced at the note.

_the car is yours. I've had it long enough, and now I think you would benefit from it more. Take care of my car, son._

_Lots of love_

_Mommy_

"All right," said Inyuasha as he grabbed his bag and went to the garage. He looked over at his mother's side of the garage. There were three cars to try. He first tried the Ferrari. Unfortunately, that wasn't the right key.

'Can you really expect your mother to give you the keys to the Ferrari?' thought Inyuasha.

He next tried the Hyundai Sonata. He was hoping and praying. He got the key in.

"Yes!" shouted Inyuasha.

He tried to turn the key. 'Damn,' thought Inyuasha. He would have like to drive that car. A sudden realization came to him. He just stood there, not moving. Time was swiftly passing by; he needed to get to school. He slowly turned around to look at the car. The evil car that his mother had seemed to love. The 1965 Beetle 1300. The evil _pink_ car.

"How could you do this to me mom?" asked Inyuasha, the garage echoing with his question. "What about my pride?"

He got into the car, reluctantly and started the engine. The clock on the car said 7:50.

"Damn," mumbled Inyuasha.

He pulled out of the garage, spinning the wheels in the process. He hit the garage door opener as he squealed out of there. The gates closed on the Toga estate, while Inyuasha sped off to school, just hoping he wouldn't be late. All of his friends would kill him. She would kill him if he was late.

To be continued…

* * *

AN: Hey, I might not be updating any story for a while. My Noni was diagnosed with uterine cancer, and I have got to see her on the day that I would do my typing. So, it might be awhile before I put up a new chapter. I hope you enjoy it. 


	3. Tempers Fly

AN: I don't own Inyuasha, but the only shame is that I would be so good at it.

**AN: Thank you for the people who actually looked up the cars. Makes me feel happy that you did it! This may be a slow chapter, but it is a big chapter for the characters. Or, it is more of a big one as you meet a bunch of characters.**

Chapter 3: Tempers Fly

"Where is he!" screamed a girl in a white blouse. Her brown hair was about to her back, and she was pacing.

"Kagome," said a boy with a slight ponytail. "He'll be here."

"Miroku's right," said a girl with a pink shirt on. "When has Inuyasha every been… seriously late?"

"Excluding the Prom, most field trips, and the time when I had to go to the hospital because the baseball he through hit me in the head?" asked Kagome with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, excluding all that, plus every other day he comes to school," added Shippo from behind a camera.

"How much time do we have Shippo?" asked Sango as she straightened her pink shirt.

"We have five minutes till we go on the air," said Shippo as he looked at his watch.

"He better get his ass here soon, or I'll make sure I kick him hard enough he won't be able to walk!" said Kagome as she pulled on a maroon jacket. Everyone had to look professional when they did this. The little group was the live broadcast of the school news. Kagome and Inuyasha were reporters, Sango was the weather woman without being a slut while doing it, and Miroku was the Sports Broadcaster. Shippo was the current AV coordinator. The had to replace that position quite a few times, especially since Kagome and Inuyasha had become reporters during the middle of last year. Things kept getting thrown at the camera when Kagome was fighting with Inuyasha during a broadcast. Last year alone they had seven different camera men.

"Miroku, here's your jacket," said Ayame, the makeup girl as she handed Miroku a green blazer.

"Thanks Ayame," said Miroku. He suddenly grabbed her hand. "Would you be interested in having my children?" Miroku shivered as he turned around. Sango was glaring at him.

"No thanks Miroku," said Ayame nervously. Sango and Miroku were seniors while she, Kagome, and Inuyasha were juniors. The youngest was the freshman Shippo. But when you dealt with seniors, you had to be careful.

"Guys," said Shippo, "let's hurry up. The show has to start soon, no matter if Inuyasha is here or not."

Everyone looked at Kagome who just sat down and got ready to do her repots. She looked calm, but everyone else knew that she was extremely upset.

Shippo gave everyone the one minute warning as everyone go to their places. Everyone was very apprehensive about what was going to happen when Inuyasha got here. Inuyasha had done this quite a few times before, and Kagome always reacted in the same fashion. When he got there, she'd scream and try to kill him. Everyone knew that they were in love with one another. The only people who didn't know were them. Shippo switched on the camera. He wasn't broadcasting yet, but it was to show that they had 10 seconds left. As the time finally ran out, the little red light on the camera went on.

"Hello and welcome to Peadmont High's daily news program," said Kagome with a smile that said 'I'm going to kill him.' "Today's main story is about the elevated absences of the high school student body."

Everyone looked at each other. She wasn't following script.

"Today's top absentee is Inuyasha Toga," said Kagome with a murderous smile. "During his three years at school here, Inuyasha Toga has missed over 100 days of school, and was tardy for nearly 200." At that exact moment, a door opened behind Kagome.

"There is no way that I have been tardy that many times," said Inuyasha as he tried to straighten his hair.

"And here's this mornings featured absentee. Inuyasha, does it give you a thrill to be late _so_ many times for something that you volunteered for and leave your _best_ friends in a predicament that they have no control over because you decided to assault your alarm clock instead of getting up?"

Inuyasha just looked at her, as he tried unsuccessfully to remain brave. In his own mind, Kagome scared the shit out of him.

"Well, actually, I really didn't volunteer for this thing, _you_ dragged me into it, and I wouldn't consider Shippo there to be one of my best friends. What do you want Miroku?" asked Inuyasha as he finally noticed Miroku trying to give him a signal that said 'Stop!', but it was too late. Kagome was fuming and Shippo was close to tears.

"You really mean that Inuyasha," said a small voice from behind the camera.

Inuyasha looked over at the little face that was on the verge of tears. He instantly felt bad. "Of course I didn't mean …"

SMACK!

"Inuyasha you piece of shit!" yelled Kagome standing up. "You are so mean, not only to me but to Shippo also!"

Kagome's voice started to fail and she was hitting Inuyasha more than she was talking. Shippo just kept on rolling as he caught every minute of the fight. Between the two of them, Kagome was winning.

No one was moving to help Inuyasha, as he completely deserved it. They just sighed as they waited for Mrs. Cousin, the sponsor, to come running through the door as fast as she could on her little legs. Everyone considered Mrs. Cousin to be somewhat of a toad. She was short and bipolar, not good combinations.

"So Sango," said Miroku as the camera went on the two of them. "Do you have anywhere to go after school tonight?"

"No," said Sango who was still watching the two fighting. "Why?"

"I was just wondering if… OH! That must of hurt," said Miroku was Kagome landed a well aimed kick right in between Inuyasha's legs. A high pitched yowl came immediately after.

"What the hell was that for?" asked Inuyasha in an extremely high pitched voice.

Kagome wasn't even listening. She just continued her assault on the _now_ very injured boy.

"What were you going to ask?" asked Sango slightly blushing.

"I was going to ask you if you wanted to go out and do something/" replied Miroku who was still slightly cringing.

Suddenly, running could be heard coming towards the room. Shippo turned around to get the entrance of what he thought was Mrs. Cousin. When the door opened though, it wasn't the short, blonde haired woman. It was Rin.

"Hey Rin," said Shippo from behind the camera. "Why are you here?"

"I'm here because Mrs. Cousin is out sick, and I was the only one in her homeroom who was brave enough to _try_ to break up **that**," said Rin as she pointed at an Inuyasha who was just trying to keep Kagome from attacking him again. At the moment she was just yelling at him.

"What are you going to do Rin?" asked Miroku who put a microphone to her lips.

"What are you doing?" asked Rin, raising an eyebrow.

"I was thinking that we could turn this into some kind of story. Something like … "Teen Anger and how other teens deal with it," or something like that."

"And your just going to try to do this while a wrestling match is going on?" asked Rin looking over the camera at the two.

"Why would you call it that?" asked Miroku who was trying to keep this as professional as he saw it in his head.

"Because there are people who are taking bets in other classes. It's 5:1 that Kagome will win this little scuffle."

"I want in on that action," said Shippo from behind the camera again.

"I'm _not_ taking bets Shippo," said Rin, putting her hands on her hips.

"So, let me ask you this question again," said Miroku in a reporter tone, "What are you going to do?"

"Well," said Rin digging in her pocket. "Mrs. Cousin left a list of things we could do to try to break the apart."

"Do you know what any of those are?" asked Miroku becoming interested and quickly loosing his reporter tone.

"Hold on," said Rin who was looking through all her pockets. "Ah!"

"You found it?" asked Miroku who was sounding too hopeful.

"That, and I found the grocery list," said Rin unfolding a piece of paper.

Sango quickly grabbed the shopping list from Rin. "What do you need to… HOLY COW!"

"What's wrong?" asked Rin grabbing the paper back.

"You have to buy a lot of food."

"Yeah, and?"

"How do you expect to take all that to your house? The closest grocery store is at least 6 blocks away from your house," said Sango completely amazed by Rin.

"Oh," said Rin quietly. "We don't go to that one. That's too expensive for us"

"Which one do you go to then?" asked Sango.

"We go to Earl's on the corner of Commerce and Exchange."

"What!" exclaimed Sango.

"You do realize that Earl's is over 20 blocks from your home." said Miroku.

"You do know that that is a stupid comment," said Rin putting the list in her pocket.

"Who's going to help you bring home half the grocery store?" asked Sango.

"Some of the kids I live with will help me," said Rin, wanting to get off the subject. She looked at the other piece of paper and snorted.

"What does it say?" asked Miroku.

"This is so stupid… '1. Try to get their attention anyway you can. 2. Try pulling them apart, 3. Call the principal.' That's completely insane," said Rin who put the paper back in her pocket.

"What do you suggest than?" asked Shippo, who was trying to keep this going.

"Let me see," said Rin as she looked around the room. She spotted something that might be able to help her.

"Hey Shippo, can I use that?" asked Rin as she waited for an answer.

"Whatever you want," said Shippo, not even looking at what she was pointing at.

Rin walked over to a shelf where she grabbed a can. She walked over to the couple as the camera continued to follow her. She grabbed the can and shot it at the two fighters.

WAHHAAAA!

The two where holding there hands over their ears as Rin stopped the horrid sound coming out of the air horn.

"What the fuck's your problem?" asked Inuyasha right in Rin's face.

"Oh nothing," said Rin. "I'm just trying to keep two friends from spending a few months in detention.

Rin waved a goodbye to the rest of the group and the camera and headed back to her classroom.

* * *

Sesshomaru watched as the girl who broke up the fight walked past his homeroom. When the girl had stopped the fight, a shoe hadhit the camera andit stopped broadcasting. After that, the teacher had shut the television off. She was a fairly good looking girl. He watched her as she walked down the hallway to her class room. She had a nice butt. 

To be continued…


	4. HELP!

Hey everyone. I'm putting my stories on temporary hiatus. I've had a pretty bad breakup with someone I found I cared a lot about, and it's hitting me hard. I've also had a recent death that doesn't seem too deep on the outside, but I feel greatly for it. I will try to get this over with as soon as I can, but since I have school now, and that sucks in itself, it might take awhile.

Concerning my stories:

Diamond in the Rough

I'm having problems figuring out where I want this. If you wanna see this go anywhere, SAY SOMETHING! I'm good about what I put in or don't put in. If I don't think it'll follow what little I do see, I'm sorry, I won't put it in. It's like this story is a brick wall and I'm hitting it with a spoon… my spoon is dented.

Feelings of Family:

I'm working too hard on it. I'm having some serious problems with classes and schedules and all this crap… I actually looked at it recently and found I put them in the wrong day… ARG! It makes me upset. Help!

Another thing… I'm having problems seeing where this one is supposed to go too. I guess I'm having a problem thinking these stories out all the way… because this seems to be a pattern with all these things.

So, just so you get this straight… the sooner I get over this and finish my Feelings of Family chapter, the sooner I get the Diamond in the Rough chapter up. I figure that everyone likes the Diamond in the Rough one better. I think it's because it's set back in the day, not present day. But I find the present day ones are the best, but that's me.

Back to the point… since I'm asking for help, the sooner I get help the sooner I get this all done. Oh, and I'd advise reading what other people have advised. If I get the same advice, well… it doesn't make things go faster, no offence. SO HELP!

Thank you!

Your loving author!

Ashley


	5. Unbelievable Changes

AN: I don't own Inuyasha right now, but when I get the time machine and go back and say, "I want to fund this!" I WILL!

**AN: Yeah… last chapter was kinda weird. Kagome acted like a bit of a bitch. It was FAR from realistic, but I needed to show you that Kagome was really touchy when it came to Inuyasha. Or something like that. I should warn you all now… I have NO idea where I'm taking this. I'm just kinda doing this to break up the monotony of Diamond in the Rough. If you read this AND that, I applaud you. I applaud all the multi readers in the audience I would like to say something though, to the readers of DitR, don't worry about the relationship, its going fine. It has to go fast to take a tailspin… smack talking to self "Bad, bad, bad. Don't tell the readers what's going on!" So that's as much as you're going to get from me. OH! For the readers of THIS story, if you have any suggestions, like high school memories or favorite teachers or just plan anything you would like to see in the story, your name, favorite baseball team… ANYTHING, since I have no idea where this is going… I'm open to requests, in a way… if you understand, just tell me… k? Now, after that LARGE authors note, the chapter!**

Chapter 4: Unbelievable Changes

"I can't believe her!" yelled Rin as they were walking to the grocery store. She was glad that She had told Blake and Amy to take the children home, and not with her to the grocery store. With all the yelling she'd been doing, she'd have upset them.

"You know Rin," said Bob in his best reassuring voice, "You can tell us ANYTHING."

"Bob?" Rin asked quietly.

"Yes?" said Bob, getting a little closer to the long haired teenager.

"Do you think you could stop pretending to be Dr. Phil?"

He just looked at her for a minute, grinned and then threw on a look of fake shock. "Oh Rin-a-lin-a-lin," He said this only when he was playing. "I see you have a lot of built up anger. It makes you very sarcastic."

Rin took a quick look around her. "Don't call me THAT outside of the house, ever. I just hope no one heard you say that."

"Oh be nice," said Alex as he overheard part of our conversation while chatting with Maggie.

"Look who's talking. Didn't you just pull a patented NaJo? "Rin asked.

"A what now?" asked a very confused Brad.

"What he do?" asked Sam as she looked back at group.

"A NaJo, a Nat-Joe." Rin said like it was a fact of life. Everyone should know it.

"What do you mean?" asked Alex as he got a little shorter and his face started to match his hair.

"Oh, don't play coy," said Rin as she glared at him. "You didn't think no one would hear about that one did you? You should be lucky that I talked to Mr. Jennings before someone at the home did. I still can't believe that you took the gold fish and put them in his coffee. That's cruel, not only to the gold fish, but to the coffee as well."

"I couldn't help it," said Alex, putting his hands up in fake surrender. "The coffee said it was lonely, so I decided to give it a pet."

"Why would you give an inanimate object a pet?" asked Maggie.

"Those be fightin' words," said Bob in his odd cowboy accent. It sounded like a mix between country and Irish.

"Let's stop now children," said Rin. "Let's not have another fight today."

"Another?" asked all the children, each in their own way.

"Yeah, two friends of mine got into a little fight this morning."

"Oh," said Brad. "Was it the two that are madly in love with each other and everyone knows about it but them?"

"It's scary how right you are sometimes," said Rin, placing her hand over her eyes.

"Oh Rin," said Bob with a smirk. When the boys got like this, you couldn't tell if they weren't just older versions of Nat and Joe. "You never did tell us what happened to make you so angry at Her."

"Well, alright," Rin said finally giving up. "I might as well tell you. You'll get it out of me eventually. Her is Mrs. Johnson."

"Well duh," said Sammy coming back to the group to hear the story.

"Do you guys remember when I told you I have enough credits to graduate this year if I take all my senior classes?" asked Rin.

"Yeah," said Alex with a sigh, "You wouldn't shut up about it."

"Well, that's where it started."

FLASH BACK

"_Rin," said Mrs. Burdick. "You're not supposed to be here."_

_Rin looked around her. It was an A day and it was third class._

"_What do you mean?" asked Rin grabbing her planner. There it was. Adult Living, A3._

"_I don't have you on my class roster," said Mrs. Burdick._

"_But I have this class on my schedule," retorted Rin._

"_Why don't you go to the office?" suggested Mrs. Burdick._

_Rin looked over at Miroku and Sango. They just shrugged there shoulders. They had no idea what was going on._

_Rin just grabbed her books she had deposited on a desk and went to the office._

"_Excuse me?" asked Rin, "Is Ms. Brands in?"_

"_Yes she is, are you supposed to see her?"_

"_I don't know, but I'm having some big problems with my schedule."_

"_Well, if she's not busy, go inside and talk to her."_

_Rin walked over to the door and knocked._

"_Come in."_

_Rin walked in and sat down in a chair across from Ms. Brands._

"_What can I do for you?" asked Ms. Brands._

"_I'm having some problems with my schedule," said Rin._

"_Let me see, what's your name?"_

"_My name's Rin Grant, I'm a junior. I'm supposed to be going to classes that would allow me to make an early graduation."_

_Ms. Brands started working on her computer. The typing and the whirling of the majority over dated computer finally stopped, she started shaking her head._

"_I've found you, and yes, you are a junior, but you're not supposed to be in classes for early graduation."_

"_What?" asked Rin quietly. "I've been in these since freshman year. I'm supposed to graduate this year."_

"_I do see that you've done this for the last two years, but we received a phone call saying that you weren't supposed to be involved in that this year," said Ms. Brands pushing up her glasses. "It's strange that we would receive a phone call only a few days before school from you're guardian. We couldn't take you out of all you're classes; there was no other place to put you. But we changed Adult Living with Stories into Film."_

"_So I'm not going to be able to graduate this year because I didn't take Adult Living?" asked Rin becoming extremely angry._

"_Basically, yes," said Ms. Brands._

"_But, I've worked so hard on this," said Rin standing up._

"_I understand, but because you're tuition is covered by the state, when your guardian tells us to do something like take you out of the early graduation program, we have to oblige."_

"_I understand…" said a very disgruntled Rin._

FLASH BACK

"That's mean and spiteful," said Alex.

"I can't figure out why she would want to do this to me though," said Rin as she tried to figure out which way they had to go next.

"Oh, that's easy," said Brad.

"Well, Mr. Smarty Pants, why then?" asked Sammy.

"If Rin leaves," explained Brad, "then there will be no one to look after us and all the other kids. Mrs. Johnson would actually have to work for once."

"You know you have a point," said Alex.

"Of course I do," said Brad, like it was an insult.

"Come one guys," said Rin crossing the street and turning. "If we don't hurry, we won't get home before night."

* * *

"Do you guys have any reason why Rin showed up in our class like that?" asked Inuyasha to the guys.

"I have no idea," said Koga.

Inuyasha just glared at him. 'Of course you wouldn't, you jack-ass,' though Inuyasha. 'You care about getting yourself a new girlfriend every other day.'

"I think it had something to do with her schedule," said Miroku as he grabbed a handful of popcorn and shoved in his mouth.

"I wish Kagome was here," said Inuyasha quietly. "She'd know why Rin looked so sad."

"You know she can't be here," said Shippo through a pretzel. "Its guy's night."

"Why are you here then?" asked Koga looking at the freshman.

"I could ask you the same question," shot back Shippo.

"Let's be somewhat civilized here," said Miroku quickly. 'God I sound like Sango,' thought Miroku.

"Do you think it had something to do with her early graduation?" asked Koga suddenly.

"What have something to do with whose early graduation?" asked Inuyasha.

"Do you think the schedule problems had to do with Rin's early graduation? Isn't Adult Living a class required to graduate?" asked Koga.

"I didn't know you paid any attention to Rin," said Inuyasha.

"She's hot," said Koga matter-of-factly. "I pay attention to all the girls who are hot."

"Of course you do," said Inuyasha, his mind quickly going to Kagome. 'No No No!' he thought quickly. 'She's just a friend."

"Why don't we get this game underway?" asked Miroku as he grabbed a pack of cards and dealt 5 cards to everyone.

"You're first Inuyasha," said Miroku as he looked intently at his hand.

"Okay… Miroku… do you have any 5's?"

"Go Fish!"

* * *

"Why would anyone want prunes?" asked Brad disgustedly as he put the three cans on the conveyor belt heading towards the cashier in her mid 40's.

"It keeps you regular when you're old," said Rin as she handed the lady money.

"Is there anything left?" asked Alex.

"Are you always this nosey?" asked Rin as she handed him two bags to carry home.

"Yes," he said with a smirk.

"We have _some_ left, but not a lot," said Rin as she grabbed the remaining 3 bags.

"Will we make it home in time for dinner?" asked Maggie quietly. Rin looked at all the kids. They were still young. Even so, this was still very tiring on them. Even the spunky Sammy was quite.

"I don't know," said Rin truthfully. "I don't even know if we'll get home before dark anymore."

"Well, Peter will have kept something for us to eat," said the usually optimistic Bob.

"Yeah, I guess," sighed Rin

The walk home was long. No one complained. They knew that complaining didn't help anything. It was long past dark. Just as Rin was about to open the door, it burst open, and there stood IT.

"Where the hell have you been?" shriek Mrs. Johnson.

"Doing the grocery shopping," Rin shot back.

"Well, you're late," said Mrs. Johnson.

"Well," said Rin, "The store is over 2 miles from our house, and 2 miles from the school."

"Well, you'll get no dinner."

"Whatever," Rin said quietly. "Let's get to the kitchen to put these away."

To be continued…


	6. The Snowy Day

AN: As I am not Japanese, a guy, and can't draw worth crap, I don't own Inuyasha

**AN: So, how did we like the chapter. I have this far fetched idea that we hate this Prudence Johnson. I'm so sorry to anyone who has a relative named Prudence Johnson. If you know anyone named Prudence, I'm so sorry. It sounded stuffy and I wanted to use it. She is a bit… evil know isn't she? LOL! Ashley, stop bothering the people, just update! So I will.**

Chapter 5: The snowy day

_It was a snowy day. _

_Rin woke up and looked out the window. Snow covered the ground in a soft white blanket. She sprung out of bed, dodging toys and rushed out the door. She headed down the hallway to her parent's room._

"_Mommy," said Rin, jumping on the bed, rousing the two adults that had been sleeping._

"_What is it Rin, darling?" asked a groggy voice that belonged to Rin's mom._

"_There's snow outside!" said Rin, giggling, so excited about the first snow of the year._

"_Yeah, and what are we going to do about it?" asked the smiling face of her dad._

"_Play in it," said Rin hugging her dad._

"_We should get some breakfast into you before you guys start a rampage on the snow," said Mom getting out of bed and putting on a robe. She put a hand on her stomach, feeling the baby kick against it. At 7 months pregnant, Rin's mom was radiant as they say only pregnant women can be._

"_You better go wake up your brother," said Dad, swinging Rin from the bed and putting her on the floor. Before Rin ran out the room, she watched as her parents embraced, sharing a few quite moments before everyone was awake._

_Rin ran back across the hallway towards Danny's room. She pushed open the door, and with a flying leap, landed on her teenage brother with a squeal._

"_Oh, Rin, it's Saturday," moaned Danny underneath the covers._

"_But it snowed," said Rin using her 5 year old logic to once again foil her brother's hope for more sleep._

"_That means Mom and Dad are already up doesn't it?" asked Danny, peering at Rin from underneath the warm covers._

"_Yeah, and it's your turn," said Rin standing up on the bed._

"_But I don't want to wake up," said Danny, pulling the covers further over his head._

"_But Danny," pleaded Rin._

_For a moment, you could see Danny's head. He gave Rin a wink and covered his head again._

_Rin laughed as she started jumping on Danny's bed chanting, "Wake up sleepy head."_

_Danny shot up and grabbed Rin, pulling her into a huge hug._

"_I'm up squirt, I'm up." Danny started tickling Rin, causing the little girl to shriek in laughter._

"_Enough you too," called Mom from the kitchen, "It's time for breakfast."_

"_You heard Mom," said Danny, putting Rin on the ground. "Why don't you get started, while I get dressed?"_

"_Okay Danny," said Rin, hugging her brother's legs as he stood up. At a towering 6 ft 5 in, all Rin could hug was his knee caps. He had taken after their father, who was even taller than Danny. After receiving a pat on the head, Rin ran out the room and down the stairs._

_At the bottom of the stairs, Rin met Dad who swung her up and over his head. Rin put out her arms like an airplane, pretending like she was flying._

"_Tengo niner niner," said Dad like he was a pilot for a plane, "Requesting permission to land, over."_

"_Permission granted," said Mom as she put a giant pile of pancakes on the table. "Take her down slowly."_

_With a whoosh, Dad put Rin in her seat, giving her a kiss on her forehead before he kissed his wife as she put the milk on the table._

"_Ew, old people love," said Danny as he came into the room._

"_Yeah, old peoples love," said Rin, imitating her older brother who took the seat next to her._

"_You'll change you're mind when you're older, both of you," said Dad as he took his seat at on end of the table, with Mom at the other._

"_Will someone pass the pancakes please?" asked Mom politely._

"_Sure honey," said Dad as he grabbed 3 pancakes for himself. "How many do you want Rin?"_

"_15," said Rin her hands in the air._

"_How about we start with one, and see where that takes you," said Danny taking the pancakes from Dad, putting one on Rin's plate, and four on his own. "Here you go Mom," said Danny, holding the plate for his mother._

"_Thank you Danny," said Mom with a smile._

"_So, what are we going to do today," asked Dad, his words garbled by the food in this mouth._

"_Everyting," said Rin, mouth full of pancakes._

"_Rin," said Mom, not looking up from her pancakes, "Don't talk with your mouth full." _

"_Yes, Mommy," said Rin as she looked over at Dad who was smiling sheepishly._

"_I think we should build a snow man," said Danny, taking a sip of milk._

"_No, a snow family," said Rin excited about spending some time with her family._

"_A snow family eh?" asked Dad, looking over at Mom. "What do you think honey, wanna have to cook for a snow family too?"_

"_She won't have too," said Rin seriously._

"_I won't?" asked Mom, smiling gently._

"_No, the snow family will have its own snow Mommy. They can't have ours."_

_Everyone started laughing._

"_I should have known," laughed Dad, "You don't like to share your Mom, do you Rin."_

"_I don't mind sharing her with Danny," said Rin smiling._

"_Are you going to share me when the new baby comes?" asked Mom as she took a bite of toast._

"_I don't know," said Rin, her brow creasing in thought. "We've never had a baby."_

"_Of course we did," said Mom laughing, "You and Denny were both babies."_

"_No," said Rin, "Danny was always here, and I was always here, and a baby comes after, so we weren't babies."_

"_You came to us as a baby," said Dad smiling at his little girl who couldn't quite grasp the concept._

"_No, I came as me," said Rin looking at her father sternly._

"_Okay Rin," said Danny. "Why don't we go outside and start on that snow family."_

"_Yeah!" shouted Rin as she picked up her plate and followed Danny to the sink, Danny helping her put the plate in the sink._

"_Make sure you dress warmly," said Mom, deciding to have another glass of milk before she cleaned up._

"_Yes Mom," said Danny as he headed up the stairs to help Rin get dressed. With warm clothes on, the two head outside._

_Out in the cool air Rin decided to make a snow angel before anything else. Laughing, she plopped down in the snow and waved her arms up and down. She heard another plop as Danny made an angel right next to her._

"_Look at that," said Danny as the two of them looked down at what they did. The two angels were so different in size._

"_Let's get to work Danny," said Rin as she pulled his hand to the spot they decided to make the snow family._

_The two started rolling balls of snow, Rin doing the heads, Danny doing the bodies. They made Dad first. It had a big body and a big head. Rin found some grey rocks mixed with the black stones under the snow where they gutter led the rain water to the ground. She grabbed a handful of both and ran over to Danny._

"_We can use the grey ones for Daddy's eyes," said Rin handing the grey stones to Danny._

"_Sure we can squirt, nice job," said Danny as he put the stones on the head for a face. 2 grey ones for eyes, one big black one for a nose, and five for the smile._

"_Let's start on Mom," said Danny, already rolling the ball for the body. It was a large body, representing they're pregnant mother. They used evergreen leaves for her eyes. Danny's snow man had to be as big as Dads with the same grey eyes. Rin's was the smallest, getting small pine cones for eyes. _

_Just as they were finished, a snow ball came flying at the two. Danny and Rin looked over to see their parents holding snow balls, poised to fire. The family of four had a massive snow ball fight, ending in a draw._

_As Mom started getting up, she cried out. Dad came running. "What's wrong darling?" asked Dad bracing Mom as she cried out again._

"_I think I'm going to have the baby now," said Mom through short breaths._

"_Are you sure?" asked Dad, even though he knew she wouldn't have a false alarm._

"_I'll get the bag and call Grandma and Papa," said Danny as he raced into the house._

"_Rin," said Dad quickly, "You stay with Mommy while I get the car."_

"_Ok Daddy," said Rin as she moved over to her Mom._

"_It's okay Mommy," said Rin as she held her mother's gloved hand with her mittened one._

"_I hope so my little girl," said Mom as both Danny and Dad came back._

"_I got the car ready," said Dad, helping Mom over to the car._

"_Should we come too?" asked Danny._

"_No, you should wait for Grandma and Papa," said Dad as he helped Mom into the car._

"_But…" started Rin, wanting to stay with her Mom._

"_Rin, listen to me," said Dad quickly._

"_It's okay honey," said Mom, stopping him. "Grandma and Papa don't know the way to the hospital like you do Rin. You have to help them get there."_

"_Okay Mommy," said Rin through newly formed tears._

"_Oh don't cry darling," said Mommy quickly. "I'll be okay. By the time you get there, you'll have a baby brother or sister."_

_Rin watched as her Dad got in the car and drove her Mom to the hospital._

"_Let's go get changed," said Danny, taking Rin by the hand._

_

* * *

_

_Rin lay in her bed crying. No one was there. Her Mom had died giving birth to their baby brother whose cord was wrapped around his neck. Rin remembered that it was the first time she say her father cry. Memories of her Mom danced through her head, as she cried herself to sleep._

_Rin awoke to arguing between her father and brother. She got up and walked over to the stairway seeing the two in the living room, standing in the middle of the room._

"_It's your fault!" yelled Danny at Dad. "The doctor said she shouldn't have anymore kids after Rin, but you didn't listen. You're the reason she's dead!"_

"_Don't yell at me young man!" countered her father. "You have no idea how this feels for me! I know you loved your mother, but it's no one's fault."_

"_How can you say that!" exclaimed Danny as he pushed his father. "Rin is five years old, she'll forget Mom."_

"_What has that to do with me!" shouted Dad. "Do you think I wanted this? Do you think I wanted to be the one to raise you kids now?" _

"_It's because of you she died!" cried Danny, "She was giving you another child when she died. I didn't get a chance to say goodbye. Rin didn't get a chance to say goodbye!"_

"_If I could, I'd be with your mother right now, but that's not an option!" said her father coming closer to Danny._

"_Yes it is," said Danny as he pulled a gun out of the back of his pants and pointed it at his father._

"_Danny," said Dad, backing away from his son. "You don't know what you're doing."_

"_Yes I do," said Danny as he pulled the trigger twice, sending two bullets into their father. Dad fell to the floor, his blood seeping through the carpet, staining it red. Rin cried out as she saw her father hit the ground._

"_Oh, Rin," said Danny quietly as he looked over at his little sister, seeing her cry for a second time for the death of a family member. "What have I done?" With that he put the gun to his head._

"_No Danny!" cried Rin through her tears. But it was too late. The bullet went through his head, spilling blood all over the wall behind him. The sound echoed through Rin's head as she looked at the sight before her. She was alone in the world._

_It was a snowy day, as three snow men feel down in the yard, leaving the smallest one all alone._

_

* * *

_

Rin awoke with a start. It had been 11 years since her family had passed away. The dream still causing tears to leap to her eyes. But it wasn't a dream. It was a memory that she never wanted to live. The neighbors had heard the shot and called the police. They came over, seeing a little girl crying on the body of her dead brother. They gave her to her grandparents. She'd lived with them for a year, until they were killed in a car accident. After that she was put into the system.

Rin looked around the room, seeing everyone was asleep. From under her pillow, Rin pulled out a book. It was a child's book about a little seed became a flower. Her brother had given it to her on her 4th birthday.

_Happy Birthday Squirt_

_Love_

_Danny_

In the book were a few mementos. There were a few photos: her parents wedding picture, a family portrait, pictures of Danny and her on the day they were born, family photos, Christmases. There was a handkerchief that had been her mother's. In her closet was a quilt that her grandmother had made her. It had bits of cloth from all her family in it. Her most prized possession was a locket her father had given her mother. It had a picture of Danny and Rin in it. It was an anniversary present. He had given it to her just a few weeks before she died. She looked at the pictures and cried. She cried for the family she had, but lost. She remembered, it had snowed that day. They day they all died.

To be continued…

AN: Be proud of me. I updated both my stories today. I think it had to do with the fact that I had all this time today. I skipped homework for you guys. LOL!


	7. Best Friends and Betrayal

AN: My eyes hurt, that's why I don't own Inuyasha

**AN: Yes, the last one was sad. Sorry if anyone found it a little too much for them. I don't know how much better it'll get from that point. I do rate this for a reason. It's not rated M because I like to swear. I really don't. I find it'll make the story seem fake or faker. It may be what we say now, but, even now, that's not what I think they would say. If it gets really bad, I'll give a warning in the author's note. Oh, I'm also thinking of catching up my two stories so they are both on 9 chapters, or 10, depending on how much I get done today! 4 day weekend! Enjoy the chapter, sorry if I lose people because I've upped the feelings. It's not so friendly anymore. If I lose to many people, or too many complian, I'll rewrite the chapter and do something else. But I had inspiration for this one. Okay Ash, stop bugging the readers who are already creeped out with all the death in last one. I had to kill everyone off, it needed to be done. Okay, Okay, have a chapter!**

Chapter 6: Best Friends and Betrayal

"So, are we better?" asked Inuyasha as he and Kagome were sitting with some of the gang at the mall.

"What do you define was better?" asked Kagome coldly.

"Apparently not what you are," said Inuyasha, backing away slightly. 'Damn, this girl can hold a grudge.'

"Sango, I need to use the bathroom," said Kagome, getting up quickly and heading for the bathroom, closely followed by both Sango and Ayame.

"What is it with girls and going to the bathroom in groups?" asked Miroku as he watched Sango race after Kagome.

When he didn't get an answer, Miroku looked over at Inuyasha. He was looked deep in thought. 'Looks can be deceiving,' thought Miroku to himself.

"Hey guys," said Shippo, coming back from Quizno's carrying a sub. "Where is everyone?"

"Koga couldn't come," said Miroku, still watching Inuyasha. "You know the story with Rin, and the rest of them are in the bathroom, probably bitching about him."

"She still hasn't forgiven him?" asked Shippo as he took an enormous bite out of his sub.

"I don't think so," said Miroku, "But you can't say he shouldn't have expected this."

"What do you mean?" asked Shippo through a mouthful of food.

"He was late, _again_, and he knew she'd be upset, _again_, so I'm saying he shouldn't be surprised that she'd do this, _again_," said Miroku.

"You know I'm right here don't you," said a slightly angry Inuyasha.

"Yes," said Miroku defiantly, "But when you don't say anything, are you really there?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" said Inuyasha, his voice raising.

"Just admit that you made a mistake," said Miroku, sighing, "We've been through this _so_ many times, just apologize and get it over with."

"I have no reason to apologize to her," said Inuyasha in a huff, crossing his arms.

"Last time I checked," said Miroku, as he pinched the bridge between his eyes out of stress, "you must have apologized at least 300 times to her."

"Well, actually," said Shippo as he took out a little brown book, "He's apologized 421 times."

"Are you keeping track of this?" asked Inuyasha, his anger rising again.

"I can't believe he's apologized that many times," said Miroku peering at the book with interest.

"Are you two just going to ignore me?" asked Inuyasha.

"Yeah, don't you remember the 27 times at the Christmas party last year?" asked Shippo.

"Isn't this some kind of invasion of privacy?" asked Inuyasha his anger reaching his peak.

"Oh yeah, didn't it have something to do with spilling punch on Kagome at the dance a few days before?" asked Miroku, his memory coming back.

"Yes, that and being late, again," said Shippo turning the book back.

"AM I SOME KIND OF JOKE?" asked Inuyasha, standing up and slamming his palms on the table.

"You're not a joke, little dog, you're just pathetic."

'That voice,' thought Inuyasha, as he turns around. It could only belong to one person.

"Hello little puppy," said Kikyo coming closer to Inuyasha, touching his face.

"What do you want?" asked Miroku angrily.

"Oh, nothing," said Kikyo sweetly. "Where is your little friend, Kagome, Inuyasha?"

"What's it matter to you?" asked Inuyasha.

"Oh, me and Kagome are old friends, or didn't you know that?" taunted Kikyo.

"I heard you betrayed her," piped up Shippo.

"Shut up runt!" snapped Kikyo. "I have no interest in you or pony tail boy over there."

"Go away Kikyo," said Inuyasha with a growl.

"Oh, what's a matter Inuyasha," crooned Kikyo, "Don't you like me anymore?"

"Go away," said Inuyasha.

"That's not what you said before," said Kikyo, reaching a hand to touch his face.

Inuyasha backed away, "That was a long time."

"I didn't think so," said Kikyo.

"It was freshman year, and you were a fling," said Inuyasha blushing slightly. He couldn't help but admit, she looked good, but even a poisonous plant can look good. It's the poison ones that look the best, the most enticing.

"You can't tell me you like little Miss perfect?" taunted Kikyo, "The way she orders you around. The way she humiliates you."

"This is not going to end well," murmured Miroku.

* * *

"I can't believe he just won't apologize," said Kagome as she paced in front of the mirror. 

"She has a point," said Ayame, seemingly ticking numbers off on her fingers. "He's apologized about 421 times to date."

"He may apologize," said Kagome, "but he never means it."

"Inuyasha has never apologized to me," said Sango, as she watched her friend pace. "The fact that he'll apologize to you means something."

"But if he means it," said Kagome as she bit at her thumb nail, "Why would he continue to do things like that?"

"It could be his form of saying he likes you," said Ayame. "Like how little boys pick on the girls they like. Inuyasha isn't much better than a little boy, so it could be the same thing."

"She does have a point," said Sango sighing. She leaned on one of the green stales. 'This happens every time. Can't they just admit that they like each other?"

"Inuyasha doesn't like me," said Kagome matter-of-factly. "He likes "her"."

"Don't say it," said Sango sensing trouble.

"Don't say what?" asked Ayame.

Sango looked over at Ayame. 'She didn't know?' Sango made frantic signals to forget it, but it was too late.

"Kikyo," said Kagome, scowling at the one word.

"Kikyo," thought Ayame, not getting any of Sango's signs. "You mean the cheerleading captain?"

"Yes," said Kagome, spitting out the word.

"She seems like a nice girl," said Ayame, to the horror of Sango.

"She's a backstabbing, maniacal, despicable vermin I'm ashamed I ever called my friend," said Kagome in one big rush.

"What did she do?" asked Ayame, just as Sango covered her mouth. But it was too late, the words were out. She was going to start on it again.

"Where do I begin?" asked Kagome.

* * *

"_Kikyo," called Kagome as she tried to keep up with girl running in front of her. "Wait for me!"_

_The girl in front of her slowed down. She turned around, her long hair whipping behind her._

"_Is this secret enough?" asked Kikyo, looking around her. She didn't know why she put up with Kagome. Kagome was so childish, more of a burden than a friend._

"_I think so," panted Kagome as she tried to catch her breath._

"_So what is it you wanted to tell me?" asked Kikyo as she sat down beside Kagome._

"_Well," murmured Kagome._

"_Kagome," said Kikyo smiling, "I'm you're best friend, you can tell me anything."_

"_Okay," said Kagome, smiling at the girl. "You know that I've been going out with Ryan for awhile."_

"_Yes," said Kikyo, her face lighting up. She loved gossip._

"_And, yesterday we had a date," said Kagome, her face becoming bright red._

"_And?" asked Kikyo, trying to get more out of her friend._

"_Well, we went to the movies, and Ryan gave me a little box. Inside was a ring," said Kagome, playing with a necklace around her neck. On the necklace were 2 little rings. One was the ring that Ryan had given to her awhile ago. The other was a friendship ring. Kikyo had given it to her during 2nd grade. For as long as they had them, they had each worn them on their finger. It didn't fit anymore, now that they were in 8th grade, so they wore them on little gold chains._

"_And, and?" _

"_Well, I gave him a kiss on the cheek and we started watching the movie. He had his arm around my shoulders. He was so sweet. He even went to see a movie that I wanted to see."_

_Kikyo inwardly sighed. Her best friend was so naïve and innocent. If Kikyo told her all adventures, her friend would probably pass out. "Yeah, what happened next?"_

"_Well, while we were watching the movie, I felt his hand touch my face. He turned my face to look at him. One thing lead to another and I kissed him." said Kagome, beet red and giggling slightly._

"_So?" asked Kikyo_

"_So what?"_

"_Did you like it?" asked Kikyo._

"_Yeah, I mean, I'm not very experience at it, but it was nice. I just can't believe I had my first kiss. I really like him. I wonder if we're going to stay together. I hope so. I wonder if I love him," said Kagome, breaking out into giggling and blushing again._

_The glow in her face vanished. 'Oh no,' thought Kikyo. She had hoped she'd fallen him. She'd hoped that she'd stop dating him after a few months. She'd been with Ryan for a long time. She had already deiced that she was going to be his. 'And Kagome isn't going to stop me,'_

_Kikyo looked down at her watch. "Oh crap, Kagome, I have to get home. See you at school tomorrow?"_

"_Yeah," said Kagome, standing up to give her friend a hug. "See ya tomorrow."_

_Kagome watched as Kikyo run off towards her home and then headed towards hers._

_The next day at school, Kagome was having a problem finding Kikyo._

"_Hey Sango," said Kagome as she stopped beside her. "Have you seen Kikyo?"_

"_Yeah," said Sango, "I think I saw her over there." She pointed towards the bleachers by the baseball field._

"_Thanks,"_

_Kagome ran towards the bleachers. She looked in the bleachers and by the field. She didn't see her anywhere. She sat down and sighed. Could Sango have been wrong? Suddenly she heard some giggling that sounded vaguely familiar. She peeked under the bleachers, seeing familiar black hair. She hurried to the back of the bleachers._

"_Kikyo…," started Kagome, but stopped suddenly._

_Her best friend was in the arms of her boyfriend. Her lipstick was all over his mouth, his hands under her skirt._

"_Kagome…" said Kikyo, quietly._

_It kept all her will power not to cry. She took off her necklace and dropped it on the ground. She turned around and walked away from the scene in front of her._

_Kikyo looked down at the rings on the ground. Seeing how upset Kagome, she smiled. Some how it wasn't the same as she had pictured it would be when she found out she'd been fooling around with her boyfriend. She looked up at the boy that she'd hurt her friend with, whose eyes were full of lust, with indifference._

"_You know," said Kikyo quietly, "Since Kagome now longer likes you, I can't see a reason to stay with you."_

"_But?" started a confused Ryan._

"_I only wanted to be with you, so I could finally break off that stupid friendship with that little girl. My way, I even got a laugh out of it. Then, you were cute, but now, you're worthless." She got out of his arms, and fixed her uniform._

"_See ya around," said Kikyo, as she walked away from Ryan, fixing her underwear at the same time._

_When Kagome was far enough away from the bleachers, she broke into a run, knocking into Sango on the way. When she got into the bathroom, she just sat there and cried._

"_Kagome…?" asked Sango._

"_Go away," sobbed Kagome._

"_Oh, Kagome," said Sango, putting her arms around Kagome, letting her cry on her shoulder._

"_I thought I loved him and she goes and does this to me," sobbed Kagome._

"_I know," said Sango, "It hurts,"_

"_I wonder how long she's been doing this to me," said Kagome, calmed down, but still crying._

'_Since the beginning,' thought Sango. "I don't know,"_

"_I never want to fall in love again," said Kagome._

"_You can't help who you fall for," said Sango._

"_Sure you can," said Kagome, turning on a faucet the wash her face. "I won't fall for anyone._

_

* * *

_

"So, did you follow that?" asked Ayame.

Sango just looked at her. 'How dense can you seriously be?'

"No, but I'd rather not get into that," said Kagome, finally standing still.

"Is Kikyo still trying to make your life miserable? I mean she tries to take Inuyasha, but…" said Sango, as again, she covered her mouth.

"Don't you get it," whispered Sango lightly, "She's in love with Inuyasha,"

"Let's get out of here," said Kagome quietly, pushing the door open.

* * *

As the door opened, the only thing Kagome saw was Kikyo flinging herself into Inuyasha's arms, covering his mouth with hers. She just stood there as Inuyasha pushed Kikyo off, and wiped his mouth off with the back of his hand. 

"Go away Kikyo," said Inuyasha.

"Oh, come on little puppy," smiled Kikyo, "You know you liked it."

"Go away," snarled Sango, standing next to Inuyasha.

"Oh, so you like tom boys now?" asked Kikyo.

"Kikyo," said a quite voice laced with extreme hate. "Go away."

"Whatever you say Kagome," said Kikyo. "See you later Inuyasha," with that, she blew him a kiss and walked away.

"What a bitch," spat Miroku.

"Kagome," said Sango, "Why don't you sit down."

"Yeah," said Kagome, putting on a fake smile.

"Are you okay Kagome," asked Inuyasha as she sat next to Sango. 'Is she still mad at me?' thought Inuyasha. 'She usually sits next to me.'

"I'm fine," said Kagome. Inside she knew it was a lie. 'Is this going to happen all over again?'

To be continued…

AN: Hard chapter to write. I had to go back so many times and rewrite things. I wish I was smarter and made the chapters shorter. But I'm nice. I don't update too often. Oh, I had this idea while I was giving my dog a bath today. We got off of school because of the power, so I was happy. I also had an experience like this with a friend, but not exactly, so there was my inspiration.


	8. Night of Games

AN: These strange things called Copy write laws keep telling me that I don't own Inuyasha. Me, I say they're wrong.

**AN: Ah! I'm so horrible at updating! All readers must hate me! Just to inform you all, I hand wrote this chapter and it turned out to be 8 ½ pieces of paper, double sided, 5 smaller pieces of paper, and 4 paper towels, and I started and finished it on the computer. See the hard work I put in for you people? Working my fingers to the bone, enduring horrible cramps, all the update a chapter. **

Chapter 7: Night of Games

'I can't believe I missed the bus, AGAIN!' thought Rin to herself as she limped home. She was not going to make it in time for dinner, and that meant she wasn't getting any.

"THIS IS NOT A RESTURANTE!" shouted Rin, imitating Johnson's demonic voice.

Not watching where she was going, her foot collided with a bench, pain shooting up her leg. Rin sat down quickly on the bench she hit, and held her ankle. She had fallen on it wrong in Gym, and now, it was really killing her.

_Flashback:_

"_Come on Rin, you can do it," shouted Ayame from the sidelines. She was so excited she was bouncing._

_Rin dribbled the ball down the court, avoiding Cayla, the girl she was playing against. She made her way to the basket when Cayla slammed right into her, Rin hitting the ground hard, her ankle landing awkwardly._

"_Now what's all this, now what's all this?" asked the aging Coach K. He had been at Peadmont High longer than anyone could remember. His hair had grayed, and his glasses were thicker, but he looked almost the same as he did 37 years ago._

"_Rin's landed wrong on her ankle," said Cayla, attempting to sound innocent._

"_Yeah," spat Kagome, "she landed wrong when you slammed into her."_

"_I'd call that a detention Miss Hills," said Coach K as he looked at Rin's ankle. "You might want to get that check on Miss Grant."_

"_It's alright Coach, I'm fine," said Rin, moaning as she got up._

"_Ah, but it looks swollen, Miss Grant, you most likely sprained it," said Coach K, heading towards his office. He came back with a wrap to put around her ankle._

"_I'm not a doctor, but I'd say, keep off it, and put ice on it as soon as you can," said Coach K, calling over one of his assistants. "Get Miss Grant some ice please."_

_The boy came back with ice, which Rin accepted gratefully. She put it on her ankle, relief seeping into her skin. She waited until class had ended and hobbled out._

"_Are you alright?" asked a voice behind her. Rin turned around to see Inuyasha coming up quickly. He quickly put his arm under her to take the pressure off her ankle._

"_What happened?" asked Inuyasha, as they headed down the hall like a strange three legged monster._

"_Cayla slammed into me during Gym, but I'm fine," said Rin as she winced, her foot hitting the ground._

"_So, you just wanted to act like a turtle today?" asked Inuyasha in his strange humor._

"_I wasn't acting like a turtle," said Rin defensively for no good reason._

"_You were too," said Inuyasha quickly, "A turtle could have easily beaten you at the pace you were going."_

_She sighed, as she allowed him to take her to class, the bell ringing as soon as he made it in the door. "Aren't you going to be in trouble?" asked Rin, now what Inuyasha was late for class._

"_Oh, I'll be fine," said Inuyasha with a wink. "I got my big brother to save me."_

"_You mean the brother who hates you?" asked Rin._

"_Secretly, he loves me," said Inuyasha as he dashed away._

_End Flashback_

Rin sighed as she got up again, gritting her teeth against the pain.

She continued to hobble towards her home, unaware of the shadows behind her.

* * *

Inuyasha sat silently next to his brother as he drove his blue mustang. He was still mad at him for gym today.

_Flashback:_

"_Hey Sesshomaru," said a guy in class, "Isn't that your _baby_ bother?"_

_Sesshomaru looked over as Inuyasha came running from the hallway._

"_Well, well, well," said Coach K. "Why are we late Little Toga?"_

"_I had to help Rin get to class," said Inuyasha truthfully._

"_Rin?" asked Coach K._

"_Miss Grant?" said Inuyasha, "Grantee?"_

"_Oh, that was the girl who had just gotten hurt. I see, I see," said Coach K. "Since you weren't here in time to be put on a team, I'll stick you with Big Toga, is that alright with you Little Toga?"_

_Inuyasha peered over at his brother, the boy who asked him that question next to him. "Do I have to?" asked Inuyasha._

"_You can always get a detention I figure," said Coach K, shrugging his shoulders._

"_Could I team up with Sango over there?" asked Inuyasha._

"_Can't team up with girls," said Coach K. "No, no, Toga brothers are better. Go team up with you're brother."_

_End Flashback:_

He looked in the back at the groceries his mother had sent him and his brother to get.

'Why couldn't I do this on my own?!" thought an exasperated Inuyasha.

'Why couldn't I do this on my own?" thought Sesshomaru apathetically.

Inuyasha looked out the window when an unexpected sight caught his eye. Three guys were hackling a girl who looked a lot like Rin.

"Sesshomaru, stop the car," said Inuyasha, hand on his seat belt.

"Why, are you going to puke or something?" asked Sesshomaru, aware of his brother's carsickness problem. But he didn't get an answer. Inuyasha had opened the door, and leaped from the car.

"Oh shit," said Sesshomaru, as he parked the car.

* * *

"Come on little lady," said the man as he put his arm on Rin's shoulder. "Don't you wanna come home with me?"

"Get away from me," said Rin as she shrugged from his grip, wincing when she moved awkwardly on her ankle.

"Oh, are we hurt little lady?" asked another man with him, coming closer to Rin.

"Let us show you what it's like to be with real men," said the third man as he eyed Rin up and down, like a piece of meat.

"You're disgusting," spat Rin, malice in her voice. She couldn't defend herself; she was in too much pain. 'What am I going to do?'

"Oh! What spunk!" said the second man.

"I like a girl with spunk. They fight," said the first man.

Rin paled at what he was insinuating. She stepped back, hitting the wall. She was stuck. She had no where to escape. She was going to be raped and killed. Fear was evident in her chocolate eyes as the three men surrounded her.

"Hey bastard!" said a voice coming from behind the men.

"Who the hell are you?" asked the second man, his attention turning from Rin. A solid punch landed straight into his nose as the silver haired boy stood between Rin and the three guys.

"Get out of here," said Inuyasha.

Rin nodded her head, and as quickly as possible, made her way out of the strange circle they we in. Worried about Inuyasha, she didn't see where she was going and bumped into something, falling on the ground. She looked up, and all she could see were the cold, amber eyes looking into hers. She seemed almost frozen, captivated with the beauty of the eyes, and the fear in her heart.

Sesshomaru looked down at the girl. 'Pathetic,' thought Sesshomaru as he watched the seemingly paralyzed girl. She was so afraid, she was near tears. He looked quickly over at Inuyasha.

'At least he can take care of himself.'

His gaze moved back to the girl at his feet. He put his hands on Rin's arms, picking her up off the ground. The simple act snapped the girl from her paralysis.

"What do you want?" asked Rin. She looked beyond the eyes, seeing the face. "Sesshomaru…?"

"Be still," said Sesshomaru as he released his hold on her arms.

"Why are you here?" asked Rin defensively.

"My idiot brother jumped out of the car to protect you. My father would be very angry if Inuyasha got hurt under my watch."

"Like I'm gonna get hurt," said Inuyasha as he came over to the two.

"Are you alright Rin?" asked Inuyasha.

"Yes, I'm fine," said Rin as she started to move away, wincing in pain.

"Let's get you home before you hurt yourself," said Sesshomaru, leading Rin to the car.

"Are you hungry Rin?" asked Inuyasha offering the front seat.

"I'm fine really," said Rin, embarrassed at the mix of attention.

"Its past dinner, isn't it?" asked Inuyasha looking at the clock in the car. "Why don't you come home and eat with us?"

"I insist," said Inuyasha.

Sesshomaru pulled away, heading home. He looked over at the girl next to him. She was a slight girl. Her hands were in her lap, clenched. Her wrapped ankle caught his attention. 'Is this the girl Inuyasha mentioned as he came into P.E.?' Before long, they were at the Toga home. Rin looked in disbelief.

"You have a huge home," said Rin.

"Everyone says that," said Inuyasha, taking Rin's arm and helping her up the stairs.

"Ma!" called Inuyasha, "I'm home!"

"Hi honey," said Izayoi as she came around a corner, whipping her hands on a towel. "Did you get the all the groceries? Who's this?" Izayoi looked at Rin, her eyes full of question.

"This is Rin, she's staying for dinner," said Inuyasha, leaving no place for question.

"Oh," said Izayoi, "What happened to your foot dear?"

Rin looked down at her foot, and saw how she was holding it awkwardly next to her other leg. "Oh," said Rin, a little nervous, "I hurt it during gym."

"Have you seen a doctor?" asked a voice from up the stairs.

"Good evening father," said Inuyasha a bit stiffly.

"Good evening Inuyasha, Sesshomaru," said Inutaisho as he looked at both sons in turn. "Good evening Izayoi," said Inutaisho addressing his wife, kissing her on the cheek.

"Have you seen a doctor?" asked Inutaisho again, addressing Rin with his amber eyes, the same eyes as Sesshomaru and Inuyasha.

"No sir," said Rin nervously.

"We have a pair of crutches that everyone is too tall for, if you would like to use them," said Inutaisho, not waiting for a response. "Inuyasha, get the crutches please, Sesshomaru, keep Rin company in the lounge, and please be cordial."

Inutaisho took the groceries from Inuyasha and Sesshomaru's hands and walked into the kitchen.

"Now boys," said Inutaisho from the kitchen.

Inuyasha shot up the stairs, leaving Rin standing alone with Sesshomaru, as Izayoi followed Inutaisho. Rin felt a hand on her shoulder. Startled, she turned around.

"This way please," said Sesshomaru as he walked into the lounge, leaving Rin alone in the hall. She silently cursed herself for not insisting to be taken home, but she knew there was nothing she could do now. She hobbled slowly after Sesshomaru, oblivious of the eyes from the kitchen.

* * *

"I can't believe he didn't assist her after you told him to be cordial," said Izayoi as she moved away from the doorway, putting a dish she had been drying away in the cupboard.

"He is who he is, never listens to anyone," said Inutaisho, as he put his arms around his wife's waist.

"I suppose you'll tell me he'll always be like that?" asked Izayoi as she leaned into his embrace.

"Now, I wouldn't say that," said Inutaisho, "Everyone changes, and so will Sesshomaru."

"How can you be so sure?" asked Izayoi, turning in his arms, looking into his eyes.

"I don't, but I can at least guess."

* * *

Rin just sat there, silently on the couch. Sesshomaru resided on the other side of the couch, a newspaper in his hands.

'What can I do?' Rin asked herself. 'Do I talk, or do I just stay silent?'

"Ummm," said Rin cautiously, looking over at Sesshomaru. All she got in return was a cold stair. "Never mind," mumbled Rin. Rin looked down at her hands, hoping Inuyasha would come back soon.

Sesshomaru looked at Rin from the corner of his eye. 'She's so timid now compared to how she had dealt with Inuyasha at the beginning of school.' She was just sitting the same way she had in the car: Her head down, her hands clenched in her lap, and her feet tucked neatly beneath her. Was she naturally timid, or was she worried about something. Maybe she was worried about her family and what they thought because she was so late. 'Maybe she's nervous around new people,' thought Sesshomaru to himself. He looked back at his paper, reading the headline.

**Serial Rapist Still at Large**

_Police are still looking for the culprit of four rapes in the area. All were done in the same fashion, leading the police to believe the work of one man. All four were high school age, and were severely beaten and raped. All four were committed to nearby hospitals within the span of three weeks, and all are still in critical condition. Police say to be on the look out for a man in his early to later 30's, an intricate tattoo on the right side of his neck._

'What flight,' thought Sesshomaru as he put the paper down. A man hurting women was a despicable and vile act. There were so many targets out there. He looked over at Rin, remembering her incident tonight. When he looked over at her, he saw her enthralled with a jade set of chess pieces on display near the fire place.

"Do you play?" asked Sesshomaru quietly, making Rin jump and look at him with large, startled eyes.

"Play what?" asked Rin.

"Chess," said Sesshomaru, pointing at the chess set she had just been admiring.

"Not very well," said Rin, looking down.

"Would you like to play while we wait?" asked Sesshomaru rising.

"Ummm… sure," said Rin, readjusting herself as he set the board in front of her. She watched as he placed the two sets of green pieces in front of her.

"If you would," said Sesshomaru motioning for her to make the first move.

Rin looked from Sesshomaru to the chess pieces, moving a pawn.

As the game progressed, Rin knew she was extremely unmatched with Sesshomaru. He had almost taken all her pieces, always watching her moves closely, thinking deeply before each move, no matter how simple it seemed.

"Check," said Sesshomaru, taking her last rook.

She took the threatening bishop, only to be thwarted by his queen.

"Checkmate," said Sesshomaru, looking her in the eyes.

Rin looked quickly around the board, and then set down her king in defeat. "Nice game."

Sesshomaru nodded. "I'd like to play you again when you are better."

"I'd like that too," said Rin smiling, her first smile since she'd gotten there. "Not when you're better, when I'm better." She laughed slightly at her own awkwardness, a small smile tugging at his lips.

"It would help if you had a better understanding of every piece."

"Oh?" asked Rin, leaning a little closer.

"Yes, let's take the knight, for instance," said Sesshomaru as he explained the fundamental usage of each piece, explaining as he went.

Rin looked away as she heard pounding coming from above her head.

"Seems he's found the crutches," said Sesshomaru.

"Here Rin," said Inuyasha running breathless. "I could only find one."

"Thank you very much," said Rin gratefully.

"Guys, Dinner," said Izayoi, poking her head in the room.

"Do you need help Rin?" asked Inuyasha.

"I'm fine," said Rin as she made her way slowly and awkwardly.

The group made their way in the dining room, across the hall, next to the kitchen.

"Rin," said Izayoi, "Sit here." She pulled out the chair next to Inuyasha, across from Sesshomaru. Izayoi put a plate in front of Rin with roast chicken with a white sauce, green beans, and small red potatoes. She then put down a salad, and a tall glass of sparkling water.

"Wow," said Rin after she had thanked her.

"Wow, what dear?" asked Izayoi as she sat down.

"We never get this kind of food, except for maybe Christmas or Thanksgiving. The chicken is wonderful."

"I should invite you over more often," said Izayoi, "No one enjoys my food as much anymore."

Rin smiled back, taking a bite of salad. She looked up and the room got dark. She noticed the lights were starting to flicker on and off.

"Oh dear," said Izayoi, getting up to look out the window.

"A storm dear?" asked Inutaisho taking a sip of an amber liquid from a short glass.

"I'm afraid so," said Izayoi. "I'm glad I had Travis put the cars away. Travis is one of our attendants," she said to Rin. "I don't' think you'll be going home today though dear. I'll phone your home and inform them." And she quickly left the room.

"You are fortunate today is Friday," said Inutaisho, taking a second scoop of potatoes.

"I called, and they understand," said Izayoi, "We are to bring you home as soon as possible though."

"It'll have to be later in the morning," said Inutaisho, "I'd want to come with to make sure you won't get in trouble, and I won't wake up before 9 on a Saturday."

After that was settled, dinner went by smoothly. Sesshomaru even agreed to play another game of chess with Rin.

"I'm going to bed," said Inuyasha, after watching the two play game after game.

"Sleep tight Inuyasha," said Rin looking away from the board as Inuyasha headed up the stairs.

"Checkmate," said Sesshomaru.

"How about the best 15 out of 20?" asked Rin.

"But I've won 17 times," said Sesshomaru.

"Well, you can make my 15 and then we'll call it even," said Rin, setting up the chess board again.

After another game or two, the lights began to flicker again, more violently this time. The lights went out; leaving only the soft glow from the fire Inutaisho had lit an hour or so after the two had begun to play.

"I suppose we should go to bed now," said Sesshomaru rising. "Follow me, and I'll help you find your room."

Rin rose slowly, and followed Sesshomaru out, finding him waiting at the bottom of the stairs.

"Give me your hand, I'll help you up," said Sesshomaru extending his hand.

Rin gratefully accepted and together, they slowly made their way to the top. As they ascended, Rin continually held Sesshomaru's hand tighter and tighter, the dark always being a fear of hers. They reached the hall, and Sesshomaru lead her down to a door on the left.

"This is your room," said Sesshomaru, turning to go.

"Wait!" said Rin quietly, "Could you at least help me out a little, as I can't see and I'm half crippled?" Sesshomaru came back without a word, opening the door and leading her in.

"The bathroom is on the right and there is the bed on the far left," and he turned to leave again.

"Could… could you stay with me?" asked Rin nervously.

"No," said Sesshomaru.

"Oh, not like that," said Rin quickly. "It's just that I haven't slept in a room by myself since I was a little girl, and I would… like the company…if you wouldn't mind. It would mean so much to me."

"I suppose," said Sesshomaru.

"Do you have anything I could sleep in?" asked Rin meekly, feeling she was taking advantage of the Toga's kindness. All she heard was a rustle of clothes, and a warm shirt was in her hands.

"Thank you," said Rin, glad it was dark, her face flushed so badly. She made her way towards the bathroom, bumping into things and stubbing most of her toes along the way. She didn't even close the door, unaware that Sesshomaru could easily see in the dark. When she staggered back, she found a bed made up on the floor. When she went to settle down in it, she found a body already in it.

"Oh," said Rin, jumping up quickly. "I thought…"

"You thought I'd make an injured woman, a guest of my family's, sleep on my floor?" asked Sesshomaru.

"No, I suppose not," said Rin quietly, feeling embarrassed. She went passed him carefully, finding the bed near by. It was so plush she felt she would be lost in it.

"Goodnight," said Rin as she almost immediately fell asleep.

"Night," said Sesshomaru softly, intrigued by this strange girl.

* * *

A crash woke Rin from her dream. She looked around unsure of where she was. A bolt of lightning illuminated the room. A crash of thunder followed shortly after. 'I hate storms,' thought Rin as she put her head on the pillow, the thunder making her jump. At home, one of the littler ones would have already climbed into bed with her. But here, no one was going to secretly comfort her from the storms. The rain pounded on the windows, the thunder louder by the second. Rin looked down at the floor. Sesshomaru was sleeping soundly, the storm not fazing him at all. 'I doubt he would mind if I wait out the storm next to him,' thought Rin hopefully. She silently slide from the bed, and moved closer to Sesshomaru. 'I'll just lay here,' thought Rin, beginning to fall asleep. She subconsciously snuggled closer to Sesshomaru, her body just touching his.

'What is she doing?' Sesshomaru thought to himself. He wanted to move but he didn't want to wake her more than he wanted to move. Another boom resonated through the house, Rin tensing.

'Afraid of a little storm,' thought Sesshomaru, 'What a childish thing to be afraid of.'

He just lay there, next to her, waiting for sleep to claim him

* * *

'Oh, the light,' thought Rin as she snuggled down deeper into her pillow. She put her head on the pillow trying to fall back asleep. But, as strange thump kept her form getting the sleep she so desired.

Bubump…Bubump…Bubump…

'What is that noise?' thought Rin stirring. She opened her eyes not to see a pillow, but the rising and falling of a chest.

"What the?" said Rin quietly.

Rin propped herself and looked at what she had been sleeping on. His bear chest rose and feel with this calm breathing. Rin looked at this face, his features soft with sleep.

'He's handsome when he's awake, but his eyes are cold and his features harsh. Now that' she's asleep, he's gorgeous,' thought Rin, smiling, reaching out to touch his face, but thinking better of it.

"No," said Rin, standing, grabbing her crutch, her ankle still soar. Sesshomaru's shirt came to her mid thigh and swirled around her legs as she limped to a dresser in front of the bed, after noticing that her clothing was no where to be found.

"Let's see what's the in the dresser," said Rin to herself, hoping to find a set of clothing.

She opened the first drawer. Christmas ornaments. "What's with that?" asked Rin aloud. The second drawer was empty, but the last one held a change of men's clothing, old, covered in dust.

"I'll just slip into these," said Rin, taking off the shirt and changing into the shirt and pants she found. "They are the same size as his shirt," said Rin, looking over at the sleeping Sesshomaru. "These must be his." She made her way out of the room, closing the door quietly.

"Thought, I don't like to be up early on a Saturday," said Sesshomaru, "What a way to wake up." He rolled over, wanting to go back to sleep, feeling colder than when he had been asleep. His chest felt strangely light, after having Rin's head on it for the majority of the night.

"Stupid girl," said Sesshomaru, his hand where her head had been.

* * *

After what seemed to be an eternity, Rin found her way back. She didn't realize she'd gone through so many halls and door ways. She made her way in to the kitchen seeing no one up.

"What do I do?" she asked herself. She spotted a coffee maker all ready to be brewed. "I'll make them some coffee," said Rin, "And I'll make me some too."

She turned the coffee maker on, and started to search for fixings. Cream was easy to find. It was in the refrigerator. The sugar took a little longer, hidden on the bottom of the pantry.

"Now the coffee cups," said Rin, looking through the cabinets. She found them at the top of the shelf. She stood on her tipy toes but still couldn't reach them.

"Who puts coffee cups on the top shelf?!" asked Rin exasperated. She stood up again, extending her body as far as she could. "Almost got it," said Rin, her finger tips touching a green mug. Suddenly, a long arm stretched above hers and grabbed two coffee cups. Rin turned around to see Sesshomaru behind her. "Good Morning Sesshomaru," said Rin politely. "I hope I didn't wake you."

Sesshomaru said nothing as he poured two cups of coffee, and handed one to her.

"Thank you very much," said Rin as she doctored it the way she liked it. Sesshomaru took his black.

"Did you sleep well?" asked Rin, trying to make conversation.

"Fine, how'd you sleep," asked Sesshomaru after a minute, cocking an eyebrow.

"The storm made it hard to sleep," said Rin blushing.

"It frightened you?" asked Sesshomaru.

"Yes," said Rin blushing again, "I'm so sorry about last night, it's something I do when storms come."

"Sleep next to near strangers with out their knowledge?" asked Sesshomaru taking a sip of coffee.

"NO!" said Rin, her face red. "I live with a bunch of little kids, and they usually crawl into bed with me when it storms, and I grew used to it, so it's how I cope with storms,"

"Good morning everyone," said Izayoi coming downstairs. "What would you guys like for breakfast?"

"Good morning Mrs. Toga," said Rin.

"Oh please Rin, call me Izayoi."

"Alright Izayoi, whatever you make for breakfast is fine by me, but would you like some help?"

"Yes, I would," said Izayoi, "You are so helpful."

Sesshomaru just watched as Rin helped his step-mother in the kitchen, in HIS clothing.

* * *

"Let us walk you in," said Izayoi looking at Rin as she sat between the two boys.

"Alright," said Rin quietly feeling cramped between the two large boys. They were so tall, and their legs so long, that no matter how she held her legs, she was touching one of them. Inuyasha got out and helped Rin out.

"I'm home," said Rin as she opened the door, the entire Toga family following her in.

"Hi Rin!" said two voices in unison. Nat and Joe were cleaning windows in the living room.

"Oh Rin," said Kathy, "You're home. We were worried about you."

"Oh, I'm fine Miss Crogan," said Rin, taking off her shoes slowly.

"Would you mind getting Rose to sleep," said Kathy, putting the little girl in her arms. "I'm having problems putting her to sleep, and Matt just fell asleep. And I would if I didn't have to supervise the kids in the kitchen… oh my. Sorry about this Rin," said Kathy as she hurried towards the kitchen.

"Come in," she said over her shoulder, moving slowly into the living room, and sitting on the couch.

"She's beautiful," said Izayoi looking down at the brown baby, touching her forehead.

"She is," said Rin, "Hard to believe that she just showed up on our doorstep isn't it?"

"Oh, poor child," said Izayoi. "Do you mind if I hold her?"

"Not at all," said Rin, transferring the baby to the other woman's arms.

"Hello beautiful," said Izayoi as she began to cradle the infant.

"Hello Rin," said Brad coming down the stairs.

"Hi… Brad… If you don't mind me asking, why are you covered in flour?" asked Rin, looking at the white in his red hair.

"Come one Rin," said Brad, his hands in the air. "It's baking day."

"OH! Right, I forgot," said Rin. She always took the kids out on baking day, leaving the older kids to help Peter and Kathy.

"God," said Brad, as he walked past Izayoi, "You're gone for one Saturday, and you forget everything." He spotted the two brothers, standing by the door. "You must be Inuyasha," said Brad.

"How would you know that squirt?" asked Inuyasha, coming closer to the boy.

"Oh we know," said Alex looking from around the corner.

"We know everything," said Bob, from around Alex.

"Whoa! There are three of you," said Inuyasha taken by surprise.

"You were right Rin," said Bob, "He does know how to count."

"Don't pull a NaJo," said Rin warningly.

"We'd never do that," said the twins from behind the curtains.

"Go play boys," said Rin.

"Okay," said Nat and Joe.

"Our resident trouble makers," said Rin smiling.

"Dave, come back," said Sam's voice from the play room.

"Hey Dave," said Rin, scooping the little boy heading for the door. "Why don't you go back and play with Sam?"

"Okee, Rin," said Dave, running back, when Rin had put him down.

"How many kids are here?" asked Inutaisho, sitting down next to his wife, admiring Rose.

"21, including me," said Rin after a quick calculation on her fingers.

"21 kids live in this home?" asked Izayoi, looking around.

"We have two upstairs. Almost everyone sleeps upstairs somewhere. The nursery is on ground level. First level has the kids and Mrs. Johnson, and the top level are all the older children, split into two different rooms," said Rin, explaining.

"Father?" said Inuyasha, after the three boys had gone back to the kitchen. "Why are we still here? I don't mean any disrespect, but I just don't understand."

Rin was interested in this answer too, but didn't quite know how to word it.

"Well," said Izayoi, answering the question, "I spoke to a Mrs. Johnson, and I would like to make sure that we speak to her before we leave, to make sure everything is going to be fine."

"Why don't you guys come in and sit down in here," said Rin, to Inuyasha and Sesshomaru. "I'm sorry to say it might take awhile,"

"I have no objections," said Izayoi, still cradling the child in her arms.

A crash and the sound of glass breaking made Rin wince. "I'll get it," she called out to Kathy.

"I'll be right back," said Rin to the people in her living room.

"She's such a nice girl," said Inutaisho, understanding how hard a situation like this could be on a person.

"Inutaisho?" asked Izayoi so only Inutaisho could hear her, "How terrible would it be if we brought this little darling home with us some day? The boys will soon be in college, and I've wanted another child for so long, but haven't been able to. It could be the answer to our prayers."

"I have no objections," said Inutaisho, "But we'll have to discuss this later, as a family."

"I understand," said Izayoi, smiling at the little child in her arms.

"Now, do we know not to play with glasses?" asked Rin, limping back into the room, a small tank top on, her old shirt in her hand, covered with something red.

"Yes Rin," said two voices sadly.

Sesshomaru looked at Rin as she entered the room. With this small tank top on, he could see part of her stomach and the curves of her ample breasts. She was very attractive in that shirt, he had to admit.

"Sit there please," said Rin, pointing at a chair. The two little girls sat in the chair together, looking around embarrassed.

"Is everything okay Rin?" asked Izayoi looking at the red on her shirt.

"Oh it's fine. Its fruit punch." Rin walked over to where Sesshomaru was and went behind his chair. She opened a door on the wall and threw her shirt in.

"Oh, that's good," said Inutaisho.

"Are you Inuyasha?" asked the little girl with red curly hair.

"What do you tell these kids Rin?" asked Inuyasha exasperated.

"I just tell them about my friends and what kind of day I've been having at school. That's all," said Rin, holding up her hands to emphasize.

"And you are you?" asked Sesshomaru surprisingly.

"My name is Maria," said the little girl smiling, "And this is Bell." Bell waved shyly, her face red as she looked at the ground. "What's your name?" asked Maria.

"I'm Sesshomaru, Inuyasha's older brother."

"What's it like being an older brother?" asked Maria. "I'm six and I'm not older than anyone except Roy, and Dave, and Matt, and Rose, but I'm not a brother of anyone."

"It's… interesting," said Sesshomaru.

"WHAT A MESS!" said an angry voice as the front door seemed to burst open. The girls sitting in the chair seemed to fly and were now cowering behind Rin, Bell behind the braver Maria. Rose had woken up, and Rin had taken her from Izayoi's arms, and was doing all she could to quiet her.

"Rin!" yelled the voice, but when she saw the guests, she became a new person. "How may I help you?" asked Mrs. Johnson in a seemingly sweet voice. The only sound was Rose's wails as she was awoken from her nap.

"Rin!" yelled Mrs. Johnson instinctively, "Rin, why don't you take Rose to the nursery and for heavens sake put on some decent clothes, we have guests."

"Yes Mrs. Johnson," said Rin, heading for the stairs. "Come on girls," said Rin quietly. "Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Toga for having me over at your home yesterday. I'll see you later Inuyasha, Sesshomaru," and she hobbled up the stairs, the wailing baby in her arms, the two little girls following her.

"It's sometimes so hard to get anyone to help out," said Mrs. Johnson, unaware that the family had seen the children working around the house.

"We'd just like to make sure that Rin wouldn't get in trouble for not being able to come home last night," said Inutaisho, not liking the woman in front of him. "Our son's had found her walking home and invited her to dinner. She had hurt her ankle and missed the bus."

"She's a clumsy girl, and very forgetful," said Mrs. Johnson, waving Inutaisho's explanation off. "I'd just like to thank you for allowing her to stay in your home; she can be such a handful sometimes, usually a very unsociable and argumentative teenager."

"Yes," said Izayoi, not liking this woman at all, "We better get going, thank you for you're hospitality."

"Not at all, not at all," said Mrs. Johnson shaking Izayoi and Inutaisho's hands as they left. "Stop by anytime you'd like." When they had left, she dropped her façade. "RIN!"

* * *

"What an awful woman," said Izayoi sitting down. "Did you hear how she yelled after Rin?"

"Yes I did dear," said Inutaisho, obviously angry.

"Poor girl, to have to put up with all that," said Izayoi.

Inuyasha sat in the back, obviously fuming. He hated that woman, after hearing all that Rin had said about her. Now that he saw her, he hated her more. Why did she have you treat Rin that way?

Sesshomaru was angry. 'Even if she's a little pathetic, she doesn't deserve to be treated like trash,' thought Sesshomaru.

"We'll have to inviter her over more often," said Inutaisho decidedly.

"We'll have to have a talk with our family about getting an addition," said Izayoi, smiling as she thought of how she'd missed having a baby in her arms.

"Yes, we will dear," said Inutaisho as he drove away.

To be continued…

**AN: What a long chapter! It'll be a lot of reading. I don't know why it was so long, but you do get a better sense of what Rin's home life was all about. I hope you enjoyed it! Longest chapter I've ever written. Review please. I wanna know what you think of it.**


	9. If Only

AN: When you forget the beginning at school, you don't own anything.

**AN: I thought I'd do my original plan and try to catch up Feelings of Family with Diamond in the Rough. But, it seems that I'm not destined to do it. I actually forgot the beginning of the story at school when I started typing it, and now I'm going insane. I have so much to do it's not even funny. College and all. I got accepted into University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign. I'm very happy, but you couldn't tell because the effect wore off. So many things I have to do, and it never seems like I'll get anything done. Now… to the chapter.**

Chapter 8: If Only

"So Rin," said Kagome, getting closer, her body leaning across the table.

"So what?" asked Rin, a little unnerved by her friends.

"What happened after?" asked Sango, her eyes wide.

"I was forced to clean all the floors with a toothbrush," said Rin, looking at her semi swollen fingers, covered in bandages. The night she had finished scrubbing all the floors in the house, her fingers had been bloody, covered in blisters.

"No that!" snapped Kagome, "With Sesshomaru."

"Nothing happened," said Rin, standing up, Kagome invading her personal space, even for a best friend.

"Oh, no kiss?" asked Sango, seemingly disappointed.

"No," said Rin, sitting down again.

"No proposal?" asked Ayame, blushing at the concept.

"No!" said Rin a little louder.

"No declaration of undying love after a nice hard f-?" asked Kagome, getting cut off by Rin.

"What kind of person do you think I am Kagome?" exclaimed Rin, blushing. "This isn't a fairy tail or a romance novel where the two totally opposite people marry, have inhumanly good sex, and have the average 2.5 children."

"What are you babbling about Rin?" asked a familiarly cold voice.

Rin turned around, only to be face to face with Sesshomaru. "Nothing," said Rin in a way Nat or Joe would say, meaning it was definitely something.

He just cocked his eyebrow and walked away. Rin sighed and sat down hard.

"I see what you mean," said Sango. "He's rich and cold, but handsome. You're sweet, beautiful, and…"

"Poor? Orphaned? A slave?" finished Rin.

"I was going to say financially challenged," said Sango blushing.

"This isn't a Cinderella and Prince Charming story," said Rin starting her homework, trying to drown out the three gossiping girls.

"But it'd be so cute," said Ayame.

"But it'd never happen," said Rin, her plan not working as she had hoped.

"Oh yes it could," said Kagome, a glint in her eye.

"And how do you think it could?" asked Rin, her eyebrow cocking like Sesshomaru's.

"Sesshomaru doesn't talk to us at all," pointed out Kagome, counting on her fingers, "And just now, he said… six words to you."

"So?" asked Rin, not seeing any correlation.

"That's the most he's said to anyone I know who isn't a boy," said Sango, "He really doesn't talk to us. I think it has something to do with being friends with his brother. But then again, he doesn't even talk to girls normally. He just dates them."

"For the longest time I thought he was gay," said Ayame. Everyone just looked at her. "What?" she asked, looking around at everyone. No one said anything. Everyone knew she was a ditz, but that was extreme, even for her.

"He's dated almost all the girls in the school, or at least the girls who considers reputable. They are all ungodly smart and beautiful." Every single attractive girl in the advanced classes had dated Sesshomaru, at least for a little while, except for Inuyasha's friends.

"So there you go," said Rin, "I'm neither beautiful nor extremely smart."

"You are both!" said the trio, looking at Rin. She just looked back at them, a look that said 'whatever.'

"Why not just admit that you like him?" asked Kagome.

"He's handsome and a nice guy, once you get to know him, but he's just an estranged friend," said Rin.

"But do you like him?" asked Sango.

"Will you drop it if I answer?" asked Rin, hoping to put a stop to it, once and for all.

"Maybe," said Sango, smiling sweetly.

"Yes, I do, but not enough to pursue him," said Rin, going back to work.

"Then go out with him and make it more," said Kagome.

"You said you'd drop it," said Rin, a little flustered.

"She said she might drop it," said Kagome, pointing at Sango, "Not me."

"I'm leaving," said Rin, picking up her books and heading to the library.

* * *

"What was that about?" asked Jason as Sesshomaru sat down.

"What's what about?" asked Sesshomaru, cocking his eyebrow.

"The girl," persisted Jason.

"What girl?" asked Sesshomaru.

"The girl you just talked to!" said Jason.

"What about her?" asked Sesshomaru.

"What's up with her? With you talking to her?" asked Jason exasperating.

"I can't talk to girls?" asked Sesshomaru, looking at Jason, with a cocked eyebrow.

"You can, but you don't," said Jason, "especially girls who hand with the 'breed'."

"She's a friend," said Sesshomaru simply.

"Is that all?" chimed in Bret, a football player sitting next to Sesshomaru.

"No, she's a pretty average chess player too," said Sesshomaru, eating his sandwich.

"How would you know that?" asked Bret.

"I played her in chess," said Sesshomaru wondering how his friends could be so dense.

"When would you play her?" asked Jason, "She's not on the chess team."

"I played her last week or so at my house, the day of the power outage," said Sesshomaru, continuing to eat.

"She was at your house?" asked Bret.

"You mean last Friday?" asked Jason.

"The date is inconsequently," said Sesshomaru.

"So she wasn't that good?" asked Jason smiling.

"She's average," said Sesshomaru.

"Not at chess," said Bret, getting the hint.

"I was talking about in bed," said Jason.

"I wouldn't' know," said Sesshomaru.

"You wouldn't?" asked the two boys.

"I wouldn't," repeated Sesshomaru.

"That's a shame," said Bret, "she has a nice ass." He watched her as she left the lunchroom, leading towards the library.

"Excuse me," said Sesshomaru rising from the table, taking his tray with him.

"Go get her Tiger," said Jason winking, a thumbs up from Bret.

Sesshomaru threw the rest of his lunch away and headed out the door, ignoring the winks from one table, and the stairs from another.

* * *

"Finally," said Rin, as she slammed her books on the table.

"Shuush," whispered Mrs. Bluntz, the scrawny librarian with a fowl temper. "You're in a library."

"Sorry," said Rin as she sat down to do her homework, away from the constant pestering of her best friends.

"Can I persuade you to play a game?" asked a cold voice with a hint of humor.

Rin looked up into Sesshomaru's amber eyes and smiled. "I'd be delighted," she said as she put her homework aside, making room for the chess board he laid in front of her.

"How've you been?" asked Sesshomaru setting up the pieces.

"I've been better," said Rin, helping, her bandaged hands making her clumsier than usual, earning another scolding from the librarian.

"How so?" asked Sesshomaru, oblivious to her awkward hands.

"I never want to use a tooth brush again," said Rin sighing.

"Sensitive teeth?" asked Sesshomaru, watching her as she finished setting up her side of the board.

"Sensitive fingers," said Rin as she held up her hands so he could clearly see them. "It's what happens when you have to scrub all scrubable floors with a tooth brush." She finishing setting up her pieces, and waited for him to make the first move.

"Punishment?" asked Sesshomaru as he planned his moves carefully.

"The worst kind, and now I have to go to the library to do a report I was supposed to do over the weekend, but had no time between scrubbing and nursing my hands," said Rin, trying to figure out what move he was going to make.

"What on?" asked Sesshomaru, starting the game by moving a knight.

"Ben Jonson," said Rin, thinking for a second before moving a pawn.

"How many pages?" asked Sesshomaru, copying her move after a second of thought.

"Seven to ten," said Rin, moving her bishop from the back line.

"Lovely," said Sesshomaru, capturing her bishop.

"It is, isn't it?" said Rin, concentrating on the game more than ever.

"Would you like company?" asked Sesshomaru, causing her to look up in surprise.

"What?" asked Rin.

"Would you like some company at the library?" asked Sesshomaru.

"Ummm…sure," said Rin, as she carelessly moved her pieces around the board.

"I'll meet you out side the coffee shop near the library at around four. Is that alright with you?" asked Sesshomaru, taking her pieces with ease.

"Sure," said Rin blushing. He was asking her out on a date. It was an awkward date, but a date none the less.

"Checkmate," said Sesshomaru, trapping her king.

"Rin sighed, but smiled up at him. "At least it took you a whole ten minutes to destroy me."

Sesshomaru smirked as she broke into quite giggles, covering her mouth with her hand. "I'll bring a chess board so we can play a game or two."

"Sure thing, I'd love to play you tonight," said Rin, helping him put the pieces away.

"Its set then," said Sesshomaru as the bell rang, signifying the end of lunch.

"See you later Sesshomaru," said Rin smiling as she picked up her homework.

"Till four," said Sesshomaru, his eyes smiling the smile his lips forbade him to show.

* * *

"She's a little late," said Sesshomaru, looking at his watch. 'I don't even know why I did t his,' said Sesshomaru to himself. 'There is nothing I need to do at the library. I have no true reason to tell me why I asked to accompany her.' Sesshomaru sighed as he was thinking in his head, trying to decide why he was waiting for Rin at a coffee shop. He looked across the street, and amidst the crowed, he saw a girl running in his general direction, her hair flowing behind her. He saw her slow to a walk when she spotted him, a smile evident on her face. 'Her smile,' said Sesshomaru. 'She always smiles like she's glad to see me.' Sesshomaru didn't take his eyes off her as he watched her stand still for a moment, seeming to catch her breath, looking over her shoulder at something.

"Can I interest you in a refill sir?" asked a waitress, motioning to his empty glass of water.

"Sure," said Sesshomaru, taking his eyes off Rin, handing the glass to the girl to refill. When he looked back, he nearly dropped his water. He looked up and down the street, but he couldn't see Rin anywhere. Sesshomaru reached into his pocket, not looking as he put a bill on the table, keeping his eyes on the spot he had last seen Rin, hoping she would magically appear again.

* * *

Rin quickly ran down the street towards the coffee shop Sesshomaru had mentioned. "I'm so late," said Rin as she accidentally ran into someone. "Sorry," she said, looking at the person she bumped into. Her apology seemed to freeze in her throat. She looked into the ice blue eyes of a man wearing a light jacket, a bizarre tattoo on his neck. But what was truly scary about him was how he looked at her. His eyes held no feelings, or at least nothing happy. They seemed to go on forever, terrifying her for a reason she didn't know.

"I'm sorry sir," said Rin again, quickly continuing on, hoping to put some distance between her and the man. She kept on running, hardly stopping at all. She finally slowed down when she caught a glimpse of a silver haired man, sitting in the coffee shop Sesshomaru described. She smiled when she realized that it was Sesshomaru, and stopped, catching her breath, putting her hand on the front of a building. She suddenly felt a feeling of foreboding and looked behind her, seeing nothing strange. She looked back, noticing Sesshomaru talking to a waitress. Just as she was about to walk towards Sesshomaru, a hand shot out, pulling her into the nearby alley, without anyone noticing, her school bag dropping to the ground.

"Let's be quiet missy," said a gruff voice, his hand heavy over her mouth. She started to struggle when a knife was pressed against her side. Rin was wide eyed as he forced her deeper into the alley, strangely dark for the time of day. She took a deep breath when he dropped his hand away from her mouth, only to put a piece of tape as replacement. She felt him bind her hands with tape too, not being to gentle about it. She shuddered as his now free hand began to roam over her chest, lingering on her breasts, the knife still pressed against her, the cold steel putting a hole in her shirt. She could feel his hot breath on her neck as he smelled her neck and hair. He took his hand away and pulled her farther down the alley to what looked like a construction site. She stumbled and tripped as he forced her toward the office building being constructed, loosing a shoe in the process. She jabbed her foot on a strewn tool, causing her to loose her balance and heftily pulled up again. She walked on, her foot bleeding, her blood mixing with the dirt. He stopped her at the opening of the building, the walls barely up, the metal frame sharp and jagged. It seemed to be a building that the city had decided to redo, keeping the original frame. She dug her feet into the ground as he tried to push her toward the opening.

"Move, little girl," said the voice as he pushed her hard into the doorway, her pants ripping on the frame. He pulled her up from where she'd fallen just inside the building. He half dragged her towards a set of stairs, yanking her up the three flights of stairs. When they reached the top floor, he pushed her into an open room, Rin falling into a heap on the floor. When she looked upon her captor for the first time, her eyes became wide with realization. He was the same man she had run into, not ten minutes before. Her body filled with fear as she watched his eyes rack over her body, causing her to shiver in disgust.

"What's wrong chickadee?" asked the man, coming closer, his knife in hand. Rin scooted back, trying to keep as much distance between the as she could. "Don't run away little one," said the man, grasping her shoulders, pulling her closer. Rin winced at the force in his fingers, terrified at the prospects about what was going to happen to her. He pulled her up, pushing her against the wall, her head hitting hard. He held her there with one powerful hand on her chest, the pressure making it harder to breath. He took the knife and put it to her neck, slicing the collar of her shirt. He drew his knife through the rest of her shirt, leaving a single slice. He ripped the rest of the shirt from her body, the sleeves caught on her bound hands.

"So pure," said the man, a crazed look in his eyes. He lowered his mouth and dragged his tongue between her breasts, starting at her bra and going to her neck. He traced a line down from her neck to her shoulder, sinking his teeth into her shoulder, causing her to cry out more in surprise than actual pain. He licked his lips as he saw blood begin to seep from the bite marks. It wasn't enough for him though. He put his knife to her shoulder, sinking it below the bite, blood streaming down her shoulder. Rin cried out in her pain, her body tensing. She abruptly found herself on the floor, her face burning from the blow the man had given her.

"I said quiet," said the man vehemently, "Don't make me say it again." She forgot to breathe as he held her arms down, sitting on top of her. "Now, be a good girl, and I won't kill you," said the man as he began cutting her pants away from her body. Rin cried out in both pain and relief as the knife dug into her leg as her assailant was knocked away by another man. Her world began to spin as she passed out, her world becoming dark.

* * *

Sesshomaru found her discarded bag in a nearby alley. He ran down the alley, going by a construction sight. He was about to pass it by when he noticed a red splotch on the ground, still wet. He walked into the construction zone carefully, stepping around the sharp objects on the floor. He went up to the open doorway, noticing a piece of blue cloth on the door, knowing who it belonged to without a second thought. Unsure of what to do, not wanting to make the situation worse for Rin, he pulled out his cell phone and called the police. After telling the police all he knew, he followed the police's orders reluctantly and stayed out of the building, just waiting for the police. He just paced in front of the doorway, cursing himself for not being able to help Rin now. Sesshomaru stopped and paled when he heard a muffled scream. He quickly and silently went up the flights of stairs. He found Rin on the top floor, bleeding and being held down, a man atop her, cutting her pants away. He quickly knocked the man off of Rin, standing in front of her protectively.

"Oh," said the man, regaining his balance, "Who are you? Are you her boyfriend?" The man smirked at Sesshomaru, who just stood there, glaring at the man, hate in his eyes. The eerie sound of sirens reached Sesshomaru's ears, causing a slight smirk to play on his lips.

"I see," said the man, looking out a window near him. "Big Man called the cops? Can't take care of his business alone?" Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed at what the man was insinuating. "If you don't stop the bleeding," said the man, pointing at Rin, "she'll die."

Sesshomaru turned around, looking at Rin, the blood seeping into her bra and pants, staining them red.

"See you later, Big Man," said the man, running from the room. Sesshomaru was about to run after him, when he remembered his words. He kneeled by Rin, taking his shirt and ripping into two pieces. He wrapped one piece tightly on Rin's shoulder, the other he wrapped around her leg. He looked down at her face, flecks of blood on her, the red evident against her bloodless face. The tape across her mouth seemed to mare her face, or so Sesshomaru thought. He gently peeled the tape away, and pulled the tape from her hands, purple from low circulation.

"Oh Rin," said Sesshomaru quietly, putting a hand on her face, his lips grazing her own in a silent apology. He wiped his eyes as the sound of feet pounding up stairs hammered inside his head.

"Sir?" said a paramedic as the loaded Rin onto a stretcher, police searching the building for any sign of the assailant. The paramedic removed the shirt that Sesshomaru had placed on her, replacing it with a pressure bandage, both on her shoulder and leg. He carefully loaded her into the stretcher, strapping her in gently.

"I'm coming with," said Sesshomaru coldly, standing up, towering over the paramedic.

"Only family…" started the paramedic.

"I'm as close to family as she has right now," said Sesshomaru, glaring at the man, leaving no room to argue.

"Yes sir," said the paramedic, taking Rin down the stairs, under Sesshomaru's watchful eyes.

"Sir," said another paramedic, once all of them were in the ambulance, traveling to the nearest hospital. "You might want to put this on." The paramedic handed Sesshomaru a shirt.

"Thank you," said Sesshomaru, donning on the shirt, having difficulties. The shirt was about five sizes to small, leaving his chest, back, and arms very well outlined, leaving nothing to the imagination. Sesshomaru watched over Rin carefully as the paramedics took care of her as best as they could, feeling guiltier every second. 'If only I hadn't been distracted,' said Sesshomaru to himself. 'If only.'

To be continued…


	10. Reflecting, Waiting, and Wondering

_Disclaimer: Don't own Inuyasha, but I can live with it._

**AN: Yeah! Finished the chapter! Cookie for me! But we have no cookies. sad I'm a little insane cause I'm so glad I finally finished it, but that's okay! I hope everyone liked the other chapter, even though it was sad, and kind of confusing. Even I was confused, and I wrote it. Oh well, this one is kind of confusing too, but I hope everyone likes it. I like it. Lol! Enjoy!**

Chapter 9: Reflecting, Waiting, and Wondering

_Beep Beep Beep_

Rin could hear the alarm going off, but decided to leave it alone. 'Someone will turn if off,' thought Rin to herself. She didn't even want to move, her body was hurting her so much.

_Beep Beep Beep_

Rin moaned, unable to turn over to rid herself of that horrible, constant beeping.

_Beep Beep Beep_

Finally having enough, Rin moved her tired body to try to silence the menacing alarm, but unable to find it. She stretched out her arm, trying to feel for it, but no matter how far she stretched, the alarm evaded her. She opened her eyes reluctantly, surprised to see her surroundings. Instead of the room on the top level filled with beds, she was in a stark white hospital room, tubes and wires sticking off of her. She looked at her side seeing the beeping was from her heart monitor than her alarm clock.

She looked around her, trying to find a call button, but her search was cut short when she overstretched her shoulder, sending a sharp pain to go rushing through her. When she finally became comfortable again, she remembered what happened to get her in this situation. She remembered the man who tried to rape and kill her, and then her rescue by someone, but she didn't know who it had been. Suddenly, she remembered the arrangement she had made with Sesshomaru. "Crap," she said, sighing, her head lying against the pillow. "He's going to be mad at me."

"Who's going to be mad at you?" asked a female voice from the door. The woman had blonde, curly hair and was holding a clipboard. She had on a pair of violet scrubs, making her hair stand out even more.

"Are you a nurse?" asked Rin, feeling exhausted, but not doing anything.

"I am," said the woman, coming in. "My name's Valerie, but you can just call me Val."

"It's nice to meet you Valerie," said Rin, trying to be polite.

"How's your arm feeling?" asked Val, checking the bandages on Rin's shoulder, concerned at the blood beginning to seep through the gaze.

"I feel tired and hurt," said Rin truthfully.

"That tends to happen when you lose a large amount of blood," said Val, taking the gaze off to look at the stitches underneath. "It seems you've pulled a few stitches," said Val, marking it down in her clipboard. "You have to be more careful."

"I didn't mean to," said Rin, "I didn't even know I had stitches in my shoulder."

"You have stitches in your leg too," said Val, lifting up the blanket on her side, moving her gown so she could look at the stitches on her leg. "These seem to be doing alright."

"What day is today?" asked Rin, slightly embarrassed.

"Today's Wednesday," said Val, marking on her clipboard some more.

"I've been here for two days?" asked Rin, slightly surprised.

"You've been unconscious for most of it," said Val, pulling out a flashlight, checking her eyes. "You came to us bleeding, unconscious, and with a concussion."

"Do you have any idea when I can be released?" asked Rin.

"I truly couldn't say, but if I had to guess, I'd say Friday, at the earliest." Val jotted down more information, turning to go.

"Wait!" said Rin, Val turning around. "Does my family know that I'm here?"

"Of course they do," said Val. "You're brother was the one to come with you. Then he called you're guardians and they came down, making sure that you were being properly cared for."

Rin had a look of shock on her face. 'Brother?' she thought to herself. 'They couldn't have met my brother.'

"What's wrong?" asked the nurse, seeing confusion and shock on Rin's face.

"Do you remember what they guardians looked like?" asked Rin.

"Well, they were two women, one older one younger. The older one had one hell of a temper on her, while the younger one had been calmer, but still a little disorientated. They also had a great amount of kids with them. They said they were from an orphanage."

"Yeah," I said, "That's them." I sighed, feeling disorientated. "Is there any chance I can get some food?" she asked her nurse.

"Of course," said Val, smiling. "What can I get you?"

"What do you have?" asked Rin, trying to lean up on her elbow, her body straining to keep her upright.

"There's jello, salads, jello, mystery meat, and jello," said Val laughing, not noticing Rin straining.

"I think I'll have the jello," said Rin smiling, her arm in agonizing pain, her arm shaking.

Rin smiled as Val left, and plopped down on the pillow with an 'oof'. She took some deep breathes as she tried to overcome the pain she had caused herself by foolish act. She put her hand through her hair, gritting her teeth at the way it felt.

"I really need a shower," said Rin out loud, closing her eyes.

"You sure do," said a voice, "I could smell you from here."

Rin opened her eyes, smiling as Inuyasha walked through the doorframe.

"What's up girly?" asked Inuyasha sitting next to her, looking her over. She seemed to be drained. She looked so small in the big room. Inuyasha noticed how pale she was, even after days in the hospital.

"Oh nothing," said Rin, readjusting her arm. "I had a dream I had to turn off my alarm clock and I woke up in here."

"You've been in here a long time," said Inuyasha, lying back in his chair, getting comfortable. "My brother's been here a lot."

"He has?" asked Rin, turning her head to look at Inuyasha. "Why would he do that?"

"Isn't it obvious?" asked Inuyasha. "He feels guilty about what happened to you."

"Why would he feel like that?" asked Rin, her voice filled with curiosity.

"I don't know," said Inuyasha sighing, his head hurting from trying to figure out the motives of his half brother. It was pointless to assume with him, but Inuyasha was going to try, for Rin's sake. "Maybe it's because you were supposed to meet him and you got taken on his account. Or maybe it's because you wouldn't be as hurt as you are now without him."

"What are you talking about?" asked Rin, "He was the one who rescued me. He knocked the man away, I think?"

"Oh he knocked him away," said Inuyasha, running his hand through his hair, his hand resting on the bridge of his nose," but while he was doing it, the man's knife sank into your leg. You wouldn't have to have stitches in your leg if it wasn't for him."

"I wouldn't have to have any stitches if he didn't come," said Rin gloomily.

"How do you figure that one?" asked Inuyasha, looking at Rin from under the heel of his hand.

"I could be dead," said Rin, looking at Inuyasha. "He saved my life. I owe him my life."

Inuyasha looked over at Rin, seeing the truth in her eyes. "You really mean that don't you?"

"Of course I do," said Rin, her face getting slightly flustered. "Why would I say something I wouldn't mean?"

"I'm not saying you would," said Inuyasha defensively. "I was just saying what was on my mind."

"And I'm saying what's on mine," said Rin, lying back down, tired.

"You tired babes?" asked Inuyasha, a little worried by Rin's sudden switch from defensive to passive.

"A little," murmured Rin. "If Val comes back, tell her to keep the jello for me."

"Val?" asked Inuyasha, cocking an eyebrow, "Jello?" But he didn't get an answer. Rin had fallen back asleep, breathing softly.

"Sleep tight kid," said Inuyasha getting up, and walking to the door, just as another person was walking away.

* * *

Sesshomaru walked into the hospital, walking up to the front desk.

"Good morning Sesshomaru," said the secretary at the front desk named Susan, "How are you today?"

"I'm fine," said Sesshomaru, "How's Rin?"

"Your sister is doing better, she's actually awake now, I hear," said Susan smiling. "You may go up to see her, although another boy just went up to see her too."

"Another boy?" asked Sesshomaru, his eyebrow cocking.

"Yes," she said looking at the sheet. "A boy named Inuyasha. Says he was her cousin. He looked a little like you, so I just let him go by without thinking about it."

"Alright," said Sesshomaru, leaving the front desk. 'Don't say anything stupid Inuyasha,' Sesshomaru said to himself, anger starting to rise in him.

As he reached the door to Rin's room, he could hear his brother's words. "He feels guilty about what happened to you."

Sesshomaru stopped dead in his tracks, leaning against the wall near the door.

"Why would he feel like that?" he heard Rin asking.

"I don't know," he heard Inuyasha sighing. "Maybe it's because you were supposed to meet him and you got taken on his account. Or maybe it's because you wouldn't be as hurt as you are now without him."

Sesshomaru froze. He didn't realize how much his brother actually understood about him. He closed his eyes listening to Rin. "What are you talking about?" she asked, "He was the one who rescued me. He knocked the man away, I think?"

"Oh he knocked him away," he heard his brother say," but while he was doing it, the man's knife sank into your leg. You wouldn't have to have stitches in your leg if it wasn't for him."

Sesshomaru didn't hear what was said next. All he could hear was the blood rushing to his ears. 'Rin will hate me now, because I was one of the reasons she go hurt.' But what he heard next, brought him go through an emotional tailspin.

"I could be dead," Sesshomaru heard her say, "He saved my life. I owe him my life."

Sesshomaru stood there, not knowing what to think. She wasn't mad at him at all. On the other hand, she was grateful to him. He had gotten her hurt, and she didn't see it. She saw it as a rescue. Even though Sesshomaru had in fact had rescued her from a horrible fate, he had hurt her too. She was such a forgiving person, and Sesshomaru could feel his chest seem to be filled with emotions he wasn't used to. They seemed to be combating each other. He stood there, reflecting, waiting, and wondering. When he heard Inuyasha head towards the door, he walked away, feeling confused but collected. 'I'll talk to her later.'

* * *

Rin woke up, and the room was dark, the only light coming from the machines in her room and the soft glow that streamed in from the hallway. She moaned, stretching her hands above her head, gasping when a pain shot through her shoulder. "Ow…" she said quietly to herself.

"Rin?" asked a groggy voice next to her. Rin looked over to see another person stretching, moving the hair from in front of their face. Rin didn't say anything, but watched as her eyes became more accustomed to the light, allowing her to make out the face of the person sitting beside her.

"Sesshomaru?" she asked, seeing his handsome features and long silver hair clearly.

"Are you alright?" Sesshomaru asked, coming closer to Rin, looking her in the eye.

"I'm fine," she said, backing away a little, not knowing how to respond to this strange behavior.

"I'm so glad," said Sesshomaru, a small smile playing on his lips. "I was so worried."

"Worried?" asked Rin still backed away, Sesshomaru having not leaned back.

"Very," he said softly. "I was worried you wouldn't wake up. I was worried you'd hate me." The last sentence surprised Rin. She unconsciously came closer, peering into his eyes.

"Hate you?" she asked. "Why would I hate you? You saved my life."

"But I'm the reason you were hurt in the first place," sighed Sesshomaru, looking down at the bed, unable to look her in the eye. "If I had just met you somewhere else, if I had just walked with you from school… none of this would have happened," said Sesshomaru quietly.

"But it did happen," said Rin solemnly. "And because of you, I'm alive and sitting in the hospital talking to you about this."

"I'm sorry Rin," said Sesshomaru quietly, not looking up at her.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," said Rin comfortingly.

"I'm so sorry Rin," said Sesshomaru, seemingly in his own world.

"Please look at me Sesshomaru," said Rin quietly.

When Sesshomaru didn't look at her again, Rin took his face in her hands and forced him to look her in the face. "You haven't done anything wrong. You have no reason to be sorry." Rin looked into Sesshomaru's eyes and saw the guilt that seemed to darken his beautiful amber eyes. Behind the guilt was sorrow and sadness.

The motherly nature of Rin took over. When one of the kids was upset, they'd come to Rin to be comforted. She'd just hold them, and wait for them to calm down. She drew Sesshomaru into her arms and held him, talking to him soothingly. "You didn't do anything wrong. I don't hate you." Comforting him came naturally for Rin.

When Sesshomaru put his arms around Rin, she tightened her hold on him, resting her chin on her shoulder. "You didn't do anything wrong," she whispered again into his ear. She felt him rest his head on her shoulder, smiling at how he accepted her comforting. Sesshomaru picked his head up off her shoulder and looked her in the eyes. Rin couldn't say anything; her breath was stolen by the look in Sesshomaru's eyes. She could feel the blush rushing to her face. She was in close proximity to one of the most handsome men she knew, and she was falling for him. She could feel how attractive he was down to her bones, and it was clouding her mind. All she could see was his amber eyes. They seemed to shine, almost illuminating. She looked deeply in his eyes, not breaking contact.

She could feel his hands on her face, cupping her jaw and cheek, but she didn't leave his eyes. She watched him closely as he lowered his mouth to hers, touching her lips sweetly with his. Unsure of what to do, Rin sat there, stiffly. Warmth seemed to spread through her, from her lips out, calming her down. She relaxed and began to respond to Sesshomaru's kisses. When Rin began to respond, Sesshomaru gave the kisses more pressure. He didn't rush forward with her, but kept it sweet, relishing the taste of her lips.

When Rin put her hands on Sesshomaru's chest, it kept all his self control from wanting more. He didn't want to take advantage of the sweet girl in his arms. But, Sesshomaru was so engrossed with Rin that he didn't hear the door open. He did, on the other hand, hear the woman in the door very clearly.

"Rin!" said Val, "What are you doing." The two closed their eyes quickly as Val switched on the lights.

"Ummm…" said Rin, her face beet red. "I…I…. ummm…"

"You don't do that kind of thing with your brother!" she said sternly, though a trace of a smile played on her lips.

"Brother?" asked Rin quickly.

"He's not your brother is he?" asked Val, standing at the end of Rin's bed.

"No," Rin said quietly.

"I figured he wasn't," said Val turning towards Sesshomaru. "You don't act like a brother would."

"What do you mean?" asked Sesshomaru.

"You just don't have that air," said Val, "I've been doing this for a long time. You just don't feel like her brother, plus you don't look like her at all." She was just about to leave the room when she turned around quickly. "Plus, the fact that your parents came by for you but not for Rin helps my theory too." With that, Val left the room.

"That was…" said Rin, not knowing how to explain how that felt. Her heart was still racing, and her face was still flushed.

"Would you rather I didn't?" asked Sesshomaru, looking over at her, amused by how flustered she seemed.

"No!... I mean… I don't know what I mean," said Rin, hiding her face in her hands.

"Well," said Sesshomaru smiling, "why don't you lie down again and rest. We'll talk about this tomorrow or so." He ended any kind of argument by kissing her softly on the forehead, the act taking Rin by surprise.

"Alright," said Rin, her face extremely flushed.

"One more thing," said Sesshomaru, before he left. "There's a dance at school in a month or so, would you like to go with me to the dance?"

"I'd love to," said Rin smiling.

A small smirk flashed quickly over his face. "Goodnight Rin," said Sesshomaru, turning off the light, and closing the door a little.

"Goodnight," murmured Rin as she dozed off again, dreaming of sweet kisses and amber eyed men.

To be continued…


	11. Perfect

_Disclaimer: Don't own Inuyasha, but if I did, he would dance to the Hamster Dance._

**AN: nervous laugh hey guys. Does anyone still read this thing? I'm so far behind. My whole graduating thing kind of put me behind. But be happy, I finished it in a night, even if it's not very long. What I truly need to update is Diamond in the Rough. God, I'll be shot for that one. I wasn't even sure if I should put an author's note in. I was worried I wouldn't finish it. But… I'm back…for a little bit, I suppose. If I get a laptop, this will be easier. I really need one. Okay, I hope you enjoy it. My style is off from no use. Sorry if it's really a bad chapter. I'm so confused. I don't remember what I was supposed to do for any of the stories. Please review… I miss reviewers.**

Chapter 10: Perfect

Slowly, but surly, Rin walked out of the hospital a week after she had woken up. Everyone had come to see her: everyone from the orphanage, all her friends, but most of all, Sesshomaru. He came to see her everyday. He'd come straight after school and stay till the end of visiting hours. On weekends he had even begun to convince the nurses to let him stay the night. After the first night, though, they made him go home. They found Rin and Sesshomaru sleeping in the same bed. The only problem was the blood coming from her leg and shoulder from the strange position they had been in all night. Rin had popped too many stitches for him to stay.

But now Rin was out and Sesshomaru was seeing her as much as possible. They were in that awkward stage of wanting to be together all the time, yet still unsure if it was to be considered dating. Rin's friends didn't help much either. They kept pestering her about Sesshomaru, but whenever that happened, she got so flustered, that you couldn't speak to her for awhile without her stuttering a little.

* * *

"That just proves it," said Kagome as she looked through some dresses. She had just finished asking Rin about Sesshomaru, yet again, and Rin's face was still beet red.

"Proves what?" asked Rin, pouting. She didn't like it when her friends did this to her, but boys was a bashful topic for her.

"That you like him," said Kagome, holding a green dress to herself and shaking her head 'no'.

"Of course she likes him," said Sango, appearing from behind her with a red dress and quickly exchanging it for a black one.

"I know she likes him," said Kagome, taking Sango's red dress and checking it out for herself, "I'm just saying that she really likes him. Like wants to date him."

"You know I'm right here don't you?" asked Rin, as she sat on the seat near the dressing room, waiting for her friends to find dresses for the dance. Not that she truly had one. She just didn't have any money to go buy a new one. She was borrowing a dress from Ms. Crogan. It was a bit frumpy, but it would have to do.

"Oh, we know," said Kagome, the black dress in front of her. She looked at it and then looked at Rin. "Come here Rin," she said, pulling Rin up by an arm and dragging her in front of the mirror, careful of her shoulder and leg. She put the dress in front of her and smiled. "Go try this on," she said, handing the dress to Rin and pushing her towards the dressing room.

"But Kagome…" started Rin, using the same argument she had against even coming to the mall in the first place.

"What harm is there in trying on a dress?" asked Kagome as Rin sighed and went into the dressing room.

"You guys keep her busy with more dresses to try on," said Kagome to Sango and Ayame, as they began to look for more dresses in the racks, "I have to make a phone call."

* * *

Inuyasha rolled over in bed, trying to reach the allusive cell phone that was going off just outside his reach. He grabbed the cell phone and answered it with a yawn.

"Hello?" asked the sleepy Inuyasha.

"I need your help," said Kagome, trying to sound as pathetic as possible.

"Kagome?" asked Inuyasha, trying to wake up, Kagome's voice making him wake up faster. "What's wrong?"

"I need you to come to the mall," said Kagome.

"Why?" asked Inuyasha, and eyebrow rising.

"Rin needs help," said Kagome. "She needs help purchasing something."

"And you need me why?" asked Inuyasha, changing into different clothing, knowing he would have to do this anyway.

"Because you are so nice, and sweet, and such a nice guy…" said Kagome.

"And I have lots of money?" asked Inuyasha, finishing her sentence.

"No," said Kagome. "I could pay for her, but you're a guy and know what would look the best."

"Alright," said Inuyasha. "I'll come, but I don't have to like it."

"Thank you," said Kagome, "Try to get here fast."

Inuyasha hung up the phone and pulled on a shirt. He headed down the stairway, bumping into Sesshomaru on the way.

"Where are you going?" asked Sesshomaru.

"The mall," said Inuyasha, pushing past him. He grabbed the keys on the counter and went out to his horrible pink car, sending the gravel flying as he sped towards the mall at break-neck speeds.

* * *

"Now what is so important that I had to get out of bed to come here?" asked Inuyasha, trying to sound annoyed.

"WHAT IS HE DOING HERE?" asked Rin from inside a changing room.

"Oh come on," said Kagome, annoyed. "You won't come out. Just let us see the dress."

"I don't want to," said Rin meekly.

"Come on," said Sango from the door. "Just let us see, please?"

All they could do was hear a sigh as the door opened slowly while Rin stepped out of the changing room. "What do you think?" she asked quietly.

"Oh Rin," said Kagome, "It's perfect." Rin's dress reached her ankles and flowed out, fluttering lightly. The black dress was accented by a silver ribbon that was tied around the waist. It flowed halfway down the back of the dress, giving accent to the sparkles that were inlaid into the dress. The dress had a slimming waist, making Rin look small and delicate. The dress had a V shaped neck, but not so deep that it went into her cleavage. It had a single strap that went around her neck, leaving her back exposed. The back of the dress reviled all of her back to just above the small of her back.

"You look beautiful Rin," said Sango, walking up to Rin and taking the rubber band out of her hair, smoothing the locks of hair. She moved Rin to the mirror and stood behind her, her hands of her shoulders. "Don't you like the dress?"

"I do like the dress…" started Rin.

"What do you think guys?" asked Sango, turning to the rest of the group. "Do you think Rin should get the dress?"

"I think it's wonderful," said Ayame.

"You look good in it," said Inuyasha. "My brother would probably think the same."

At the small mentioning, Rin's face got extremely red, as she looked back into the mirror, pretending to examine herself in the dress. "But…" she said, after a moment. "I don't have the money for the dress," said Rin.

"That's where we come in," said Kagome. "We'll pay for the dress and any accessories we deem necessary."

"But… you need dresses too," said Rin quickly.

"But we already have ours," said the girl, holding up dresses they had already purchased while they waited for Rin. Kagome's was pink and poufy, but it shaped her body beautifully, so the poufyness could be forgiven. Sango had a dark green dress that was form fitting and came to about the knees. Ayame had a blue dress that went out from the waist, keeping the shape of the dress, not exactly flowing, but still nice.

"Oh, was I holding everyone up?" asked Rin, sighing. "I didn't mean to."

"Don't worry about it hun," said Kagome, steering her back to the dressing room.

"Alright," said Rin as she changed back into her regular clothing. When she got back out, Kagome took the dress from her hands and paid for it, without as much as a second thought.

"Now," said Kagome, "off we go to shoes."

* * *

Inuyasha came back home hours later. He was exhausted, having had to answer any questions about how things looked on such and such, and how things went with this or that. He was so glad he wasn't a girl, it wasn't even funny.

"How was the mall?" asked a voice from the couch.

Inuyasha turned around, looking at Sesshomaru. "It was exhausting."

"What did you do?" asked Sesshomaru, looking back at the paper he was reading.

"Said this looked nice for the girls and they should get this or that," sighed Inuyasha as he plopped down beside his brother. "I basically acted like a gay man."

"This is different from any other time how?" asked Sesshomaru, still reading.

"Oh ha ha," said Inuyasha, "but so you know," he said, getting up, "if things don't work out with Kagome, I think I might be taking Rin from you."

"Where did this come from?" asked Sesshomaru, putting down his paper.

"Just the mall," said Inuyasha going towards the stairs. "She looked mighty sexy in that dress of hers."

Sesshomaru just glared at his brother's back. He tried to go back to the paper, but he couldn't help but wonder how beautiful she was going to be at the dance. He sighed and lay back on the couch, just wondering, smiling, and glad she let him be with her.

To be continued…


	12. Meet the Parents?

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha

AN: OMG! This must have taken me an absolutely long time for me to post a new chapter. I've been very busy. I've gone through 2 relationships and am on my 3rd. Isn't that wonderful? The one I'm in now is a very nice once, and the guy is very nice to me. He makes me smile, so because of him, I've decided to write this chapter. I hope you all like it. I'm sorry for the inconvenience.

Chapter 11: Meet the Parents?

"Rin!" Sesshomaru called out, but she couldn't hear him before she went into the locker room. He'd come early to gym to talk to her.

"What are you doing here early?" asked a voice behind him.

Sesshomaru turned around to look at his younger brother. "Nothing that involves you," he said, straightening up.

"It's about Rin isn't it?" asked Inuyasha.

Sesshomaru said nothing causing Inuyasha to smirk.

"I see, so it is about Rin," said Inuyasha.

Sesshomaru said nothing but walked away.

"What was that about?" asked Rin.

"Something about you," said Inuyasha going after his brother. Inuyasha came up closer to his brother, putting his hand on his shoulder and turning him around. "Look, there she is," said Inuyasha, pointing at Rin. "Go talk to here."

"This has nothing to do with you," said Sesshomaru.

"She's my friend, so yes it does have something to do with me," said Inuyasha.

"How do you figure," said Sesshomaru, his eyebrow cocking.

"I don't want to see her hurt by the biggest player in the school," said Inuyasha.

Sesshomaru looked over at Rin. She raised a hand and waved, an awkward smile on her lips. She was wearing a tank top, her scar visible on her shoulder. Sesshomaru sighed and looked away from her.

"I'll never hurt her again," he said quietly. He turned around before his brother could say anything and walked out of the gym.

* * *

Sesshomaru absent mindedly tightened his knuckles as he waited nervously, the phone ringing.

"Hello?" asked an angry voice at the other end.

"Hi," he said, quickly, "Is Rin there?"

"Yeah," said Mrs. Johnson, "She's here. What do you want with here?"

"I'd like to talk to her," said Sesshomaru, gaining back some confidence.

"What about?" she asked, her voice becoming stubborn.

"School work," he said his voice matter-of-factly.

"Don't be too long," she said, putting the phone down with a clank on the table. "Rin! The phone is for you!"

Sesshomaru gulped as he waited for her to pick up the phone. He'd never been nervous in his life, and he wasn't quite sure how to handle it.

"Hello?" asked Rin, her voice coming in pants, as if she had run for the phone.

"Hello Rin," said Sesshomaru.

"Oh," said Rin surprised. "I didn't expect you Sesshomaru."

"I have a question for you," he said, getting right to the point.

"Oh?" she asked, switching the phone to her other ear.

"Would you go out on a date with me?" he asked, trying to keep the words from jumbling.

Rin didn't know what to say. She'd never been on a date before, and the closest thing she had been close to having as a date ended in her almost getting rapped. She had hoped that when she'd be asked to go on a date, it would be more romantic, but one couldn't be picky, she supposed.

"Rin?" he asked quietly, "Are you there?"

"I'm here," she said quietly, "I'm just not sure what to say,"

"Say yes," he said quietly.

"Alright, I'll say yes,"

"Wonderful," he said, smiling. "I'll pick you up on Friday at 6:30,"

"Alright," said Rin, not sure what she sure what she should say. "That'd be very nice."

"Great," he said, still smiling. "I'll see you at school tomorrow."

"Wait," she said, "what do I wear," but he had already hung up. "Oh no," she said quietly, maybe Kagome will know what I should wear."

* * *

"You're going on a date?" asked Kagome as she went through some of the clothing in her closet, "With Sesshomaru,"

"Yes," said Rin blushing.

"Where are you going?" asked Kagome.

"I have no idea," Rin said.

"What do you mean you have no idea where you're going? Do you know what you are expected to wear?" asked Kagome, her voice becoming frantic.

"I don't know," said Rin, backing away from her scary friend.

"I'm calling someone who can figure this out," said Kagome grabbing her cell phone

"Hello?" asked a gruff voice on the other end.

"Inuyasha, I need your help," said Kagome.

"What's up?" he asked.

"I need you to figure out where your brother is taking Rin for their date."

"What did you say?" he asked quickly, almost falling off of his chair, earning a strange look from his older brother, reading in the chair near him.

"Sesshomaru is going on a date with Rin," said Kagome.

"I see," he said looking at his brother, "And what do you want me to do?"

Kagome sighed; this was such a waste of his time. "I want you to find where he's taking her."

"Alright…" he said scratching his head. He hung up the phone and that thought to himself, 'How am I going to ask him this?'

"Is there something you want to ask me?" asked Sesshomaru.

"Yes," he said, figuring he'd get it over with very quickly. "Where are you taking Rin on your date?"

Sesshomaru didn't say anything. "Where did you hear I was taking her out on a date?"

"A little birdie told me, now where are you taking her?"

"I can't say, but it's a very nice restaurant," he said, going back to his paper.

"Would you say it is black dress worthy?" asked Inuyasha grabbing his phone.

"Yes," said Sesshomaru, putting his paper down and leaving the room

Inuyasha took his phone quickly and started quickly texting.

**Little ****blck**** dress worthy.****Mke****sre**** she looks good. Id say 5 restaurant**

**Thanx** texted Kagome **I owe u 1**

Inuyasha smiled. Maybe Kagome would agree to go on a date with him.

* * *

"Rin," said Bob, "You shouldn't keep pacing like that, you'll wear out Kagome's shoes"

"I'm just nervous," said Rin, continuing to pace in a pair of 3 inch high heels that she borrowed from Kagome.

"You don't have to be nervous," said Alex, leaning over a chair.

"Why not?" asked Rin. "I'm just going out on a date with one of the hottest guys I know."

"You know we want to meet him," said Sammy.

"What?" asked Rin.

"Yeah," said Blake, "we want to meet him."

"Are you serious?" asked Rin, no longer pacing, but stairing at these children in front of her.

"Yes we are," said the triplets, sitting in front of the couch, Sammy, Blake, Maggie and Amy sitting on the couch behind him. There were three other chairs in the room, one next to the couch, occupied by Maria and Bell in the chair and Nat and Joe on the floor. The other two chairs were left open for Rin and Sesshomaru to sit in.

"Rin," said Alex, "Please sit there," he said pointing at a chair.

"Don't do this to me," she said sitting down anyway, just as the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," said Brad, putting on what could only be described as a dad face. He opened the door, staring up into the amber eyes of Sesshomaru, who seemed very confused.

"Please come in and take a seat," said Brad, bowing low.

Sesshomaru nodded and walked into the house looking at the many children sitting around the room. He looked over at Rin who seemed to be very preoccupied with something on her lap. She looked up at him and smiled and awkward smile before blushing and looking back into her lap.

Sesshomaru had to admit that she looked very pretty in her dress. It was a black dress with a deep V neck. She was wearing silver earrings and a silver necklace. Her hair was up in a very elegant bun and her eyes stood out with smoky shadow, making her eyes seem lighter than they usually would have. She looked absolutely beautiful.

"So, where are you going?" asked Brad, taking his seat on the floor next to his brother.

"The Red Crain," said Sesshomaru.

"Chinese food I see," said Brad, a small smile of approval. "What time will you have her home?" he asked, looking at Sesshomaru intensely.

"What time would you want her home?" asked Sesshomaru. "I was thinking about sometime before 1."

"That's a long time," said Bell meekly, sitting in her chair, holding Maria's hand.

"How long do you expect dinner to take?" asked Bob, doing the math quickly. "You seem to want to have her out for almost 7 hours."

"I figure we'll talk for a bit and I might take her somewhere to play a bit,"

"Do you use protection?" asked Sammy seriously.

"Sammy!" said Rin quietly.

"Come on Rin," said Amy and Maggie. "We're almost in high school, you don't think we'd know about protection and STDs?"

"I didn't think you'd bring something like that up," she said blushing.

"We see the effect of having children too early or when your not ready every day," said Blake seriously, looking intently at Rin. "We are the effect."

"We just want to make sure that you are safe," said Alex quietly for once.

"I understand," said Sesshomaru. "I do use protection, but I have no intention of needing it tonight," he said, hoping it would end the conversation, seeing as it made Rin uncomfortable.

"Where are you taking her to play?" asked Maria.

"I'm not sure," said Sesshomaru. "Somewhere quite so we can play some chess."

"That doesn't sound like much fun," said Maria.

"It may not sound like fun to you," said Sesshomaru, actually chuckling a little, "But we find it fun,"

"I can't say that there isn't much that we have to ask you," said Blake. "We know enough about you from Rin and her friends I assume, but we have no objections."

"But we have something to say," said Nat and Joe. "You break her heart, we break your face!"

Rin just blushed, hoping that everything would go away.

"I'll keep that in mind," said Sesshomaru standing. "Shall we be off?" he asked, holding his hand out for Rin to grasp.

"Yes please," she said, standing up quickly and heading towards the door.

"You kids be good," she said, walking through the door Sesshomaru held open.

"I'll take good care of her," said Sesshomaru closing the door behind him.

"I think I trust him with her," said Bell quietly.

"I think I do too," said Brad, sitting back.

"Lets head upstairs," said Blake. "You girls better get the dirt on Rin's date when she gets home," he said, heading upstairs.

"Oh we will," said Sammy and the twins.

To be continued….

**AN: Not my longest, nor most important, but I figured you guys would like to read something. It's a pretty good chapter. I hope you guys like it. Please review soon!**


	13. The Red Crain

Disclaimer: Owning Inuyasha I do not.

AN: Hmmm… it has been a short time since my last update, but that is because my last break wasn't that horribly long ago. Now that I have break, I may be able to put out another chapter after this. It's just sort of hard when you have no idea what any of your notes meant when you wrote them last summer when so many things were different in your head. But I should stop rambling and just get on with this chapter. Oh and for the girl who asked me if Sesshomaru was demon, just think of him as a super human, but not a demon. He's got the good sense of smell, hearing, eye sight and the ability to heal faster than normal humans. I actually have a friend that matches this description, maybe I was thinking of him. And now… on to the chapter.

Chapter 12: The Red Crain

Rin sat in his car, waiting for him to drive to the restaurant. She was quiet, quieter than she should, she was just so nervous about this date with Sesshomaru. She looked over at him, and blushed. He was just so handsome. He had his hair pulled back in a simple ponytail, not a hair out of place. He was wearing a nice black blazer with a white button down shirt underneath. Rin took a deep breath in and blushed. The entire car was filled with a mix of his cologne and his personal body smell.

Sesshomaru looked over at Rin, her face almost completely red. He hadn't guessed that she'd be so embarrassed to go out to dinner. They had become better friends than before and he had hoped that this interaction would help make this date a little more comfortable.

"Do you know how to use chop sticks?" asked Sesshomaru, hoping to break the ice.

"No," said Rin, shaking her head, her earrings jingling a little with her head movement.

"I'll have to teach you," he said, his hands moving back to the road.

"That'd be nice," she said quietly playing with her fingers, trying not to look at him. There was another awkward pause, Rin not knowing what to say, the sound of the blood rushing to her ears almost deafening to her.

"You don't have to be so embarrassed," said Sesshomaru, not looking away from the road.

"What?" she asked, looking at Sesshomaru, her face extremely red.

"There is no reason for you to be embarrassed," he said, looking at her from the corner of his eye. "We're friends, not strangers."

"Oh, I see" she said, trying to keep her disappointment from her voice. 'He only thinks of me as a friend,' she said to herself.

Sesshomaru didn't say anything more, feeling he'd said something wrong. He looked over at her, her body suddenly tenser than she was before. He wanted to ask if she was alright, but he knew that he'd just upset her more.

Rin jumped when there was a sudden beeping in the car. Sesshomaru put a hand to his blazer pocket and took out his phone, the phone beeping again, another text message coming in.

**Hey man, good ****luk**** on ****ur**** date. Ger in2 her ****pnts**** & ****fuk**** her ****hrd****. j/k ****nt**** rely**

The first one was from Bret. 'Why do I associate myself with these rude people?' Sesshomaru asked himself as he deleted the text.

**Take care of ****rin**** or I kill u**.

Short, sweet, and to the point; very unusual for Inuyasha. But he understood his concern for his friend. Rin had been through a lot recently and this was something very foreign to her.

"Inuyasha is worried about you," said Sesshomaru, handing Rin the phone for her to read. Rin looked at the phone and smiled slightly. Inuyasha as always worried about Rin. He acted like the older brother you always wish to have.

"He's such a good guy," she said handing the phone back to Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru said nothing as he pulled by the front of the restaurant, a man in a red vest coming out. He handed the man his keys and the man gave him a receipt.

Rin looked on confused. She'd never seen valet before. She jumped when she felt a warm, large hand on her back. She turned around to see Miroku there, a smile on his face.

"Miroku," she said, turning around and hugging him tight. "I thought it was Sesshomaru for a second."

"Why?" asked Miroku, looking around. "Is he here?"

"Sesshomaru and I…" said Rin blushing, "We are on a date."

"Oh," said Miroku, looking over at Sesshomaru. "I see," He winked at Rin. "I won't keep you from him then." Before Rin could call out to him, Sesshomaru was already behind her, a hand on her shoulder.

"Our table is waiting," he whispered in her ear. Rin shivered and turned around, looking at Sesshomaru with very large brown eyes. She nodded and followed him towards the table. She stopped as he pulled her chair out for her. She smiled as he sat down across from her, his demeanor the same as it had always been.

"Here are you menus," the waiter said, putting down two glasses of water and a pot of tea with matching cups.

"Thank you," said Rin politely, carefully poring themselves a cup of tea as the waiter walked away.

"This is a very nice restaurant," said Rin looking around.

"It's a very western for a Chinese restaurant," said Sesshomaru looking at his menu.

"What do you mean?" asked Rin, looking down at her menu, almost gasping at the price of the dishes.

"Traditionally, there would not be tables this large here, and there wouldn't be chairs either," said Sesshomaru, looking over at Rin and her almost appalled look on her face.

"I see," she said blushing, looking away from the menu.

"It doesn't matter what you order," said Sesshomaru. "I'll pay for anything that you order. You are on a date with me, I want you to enjoy yourself," he said, folding his menu and looking over at Rin, enticing her to look over at him.

"It's just so expensive," she said quietly, "I don't understand how anyone could pay that much for food."

"When you have a disposable income, you can do things like that."

"I've never had anything close to an income so it's very hard for me to grasp these expenditures."

"When you grow up like I have, you begin to not only understand, but also enjoy a more extravagant lifestyle."

"Are we ready to order?" asked the waiter returning.

"Yes," said Sesshomaru, looking up at him. "For an appetizer, we'd like an order of Crab Rangoon. I'd like as an entrée would be an order of orange peel duck with plum sauce with a cup of egg drop soup."

"And what can I get you?" the waiter asked.

"Can I get an order of chicken almond ding please?" asked Rin quietly, surprised that the simple dish was over twenty dollars an order.

"Yes ma'am," said the waiter. "Is there anything else I can do?"

"That will be all," said Sesshomaru after looking over at Rin first. The waiter took the menus away and walked towards the kitchen. Sesshomaru looked over at Rin as she fiddled with her napkin in her lap. She looked over at him quickly, blushed, and looked away, embarrassed.

"Are you uncomfortable here with me?"

"No!" said Rin a bit louder than she should have, causing people to look over at the. She blushed quickly and looked away again, seeming to try to make herself smaller.

"You just seem so nervous. Why don't you tell me something about yourself."

"There isn't much to me," she said still playing with her napkin.

"Tell me something about the kids' that live with you in the orphanage."

Rin looked up at him and smiled a very true and genuine smile. "Where would you like me to start?"

Feelings of Family

Throughout dinner the two talked about many different things, including the many children at the orphanage. You couldn't help but laugh at the couple as Rin recounted many tales of the children and the stunts they have pulled. Sesshomaru smiled at this young woman as she recanted another tale. As she laughed, her face becoming flushed and she seemed to glow and Sesshomaru could feel his heart warming to her. She smiled at him when she saw him smiling at her.

"What?" she asked as she looked over at him, her eyes still sparkling.

"Nothing," he said quietly, "Would you like to go for a walk?"

"Yes," she said quietly, smiling at him.

Sesshomaru smiled and motioned for a waiter to come. He bought the check and two fortune cookies. Rin smiled and took one of the cookies. She opened it and laughed, putting a hand over her mouth quickly.

"What is it?" asked Sesshomaru, looking at the check and putting two rather large bills on the table.

"My fortune,"

"What does it say?"

"Good fortune is coming your way," she said laughing, "And I can't wait for my "good fortune" to come. What does yours say?"

Sesshomaru took his cookie and slipped it into his pocket. "I'd rather do it later," he said, getting up and going behind Rin's chair. "Shall we?"

"Yes," she said, getting up, her hand going into his, for just a second. She looked down at their hands and blushed, taking it away. Sesshomaru looked down at her and showed her they way through the door.

"I'll get the car," said Sesshomaru, "why don't you powder your nose."

"Yes," she said weakly, and headed for the bathroom.

Sesshomaru walked out of the restaurant and handed the ticket to the valet. While he waited for the car to show up he took out his cookie and opened it up.

"New love is in your future," he murmured, putting the fortune back into his pocket as Rin came out of the restaurant.

"Are you ready to go?" asked Sesshomaru, leaning down and whispering in her ear.

Rin nodded and walked towards the other side of the car, her heels clacking on the asphalt.

"Rin," said Sesshomaru gently.

"Yes?" asked Rin quietly, looking up innocently, her eyes large and trusting.

"Oh nothing," he said, getting into the car

Feelings of Family

"So tell me about yourself," said Rin as she walked in the park with Sesshomaru.

"What do you want to know?" he asked, his head up.

"Anything, you want to tell me," she said, looking up at him, his eyes falling down to hers.

"Izayoi isn't my mother," he said, looking back up, his hands in his pockets.

"I know," said Rin, sitting on a near by bench, her legs tucked underneath her.

"How did you know?" he asked, stopping, continuing to stair ahead.

"You never called her mom," she said, fiddling with her dress.

"What happened to your parents?" asked Sesshomaru.

"Umm.." she said, her voice becoming crackly. Sesshomaru turned around, seeing tears in her eyes. He sat down next to her as she told her story.

"My parents died when I was young," she said slowly, taking every part slowly, almost thinking about every word she said. "My mom was killed in child birth and my bother shot my father and then himself, leaving me alone."

Tears were streaming down her face, but not another sound left her lips. She turned around frightened when he put his hand on her shoulder, forgetting that Sesshomaru was there. She sobbed and put her head on his shoulder, tears seeping into his jacket. Sesshomaru let her cry for a bit, a hand trying to sooth her, slowly stroking her back.

"Everything will be alright," said Sesshomaru, a strong hand under her chin, making her look into his eyes. She nodded and smiled, the tears stopping. Sesshomaru looked down at her and moved in closer, capturing her lips in a sweet kiss. Rin responded invitingly and the kiss became more and more passionate. Rin whimpered as she felt his tongue at the edge of her lips and meet his tongue with hers. As the kiss became deeper, Rin put her arms around his neck and Sesshomaru put an arm around her waist and one on her back. Rin was the one to break the kiss first. She looked at Sesshomaru and blushed, averting her eyes, embarrassed.

"Maybe I should go home," she said, her arms still around his neck.

"Whatever you want," he said, picking her up in his arms and carrying her to his car. When they got to her home, she waited for a moment, looking at Sesshomaru.

"I had a great time," she said, smiling sweetly at him, obviously still embarrassed about what happened.

"I did too Rin," he said, smiling at her. Rin leaned in and kissed him chastely on the cheek. She smiled and blushed as she got ready to leave the car.

"Goodbye," she said, leaving the car, about to close the door.

"Good night Rin," said Sesshomaru as she closed the door. He waited until she was in the door before he left.

On the other side of the door, Rin leaned against the door smiling, a hand to her lips. It had been a great night.

To be continued…


End file.
